ChironIn 1977, Chiron, the farthest known asteroid was discovered by Charles Kowal, on a photographic plate taken on 18 Oct 1977. It has a highly elliptical orbit with a period of 50.7 years. Chiron has a diameter estimated between 148 to 208 km, a mass between 2 x 1018 to 1019 kg, and it spins with a rotational period of about 5.9 hrs. Having been recognized as a minor planet, it was also found on earlier photographic plates dating back to 1895. It is also unusual due to a detectable coma, indicating it is also a cometary type body. However, it is more than 50,000 times the size of a typical comet, hence it can be referred to as an asteroid. Chiron is named after the wisest of the Centaurs of Greek mythology. Three similar comet/asteroid bodies have since been discovered, collectively designated Centaurs.« |
