878 Mildred

878 Mildred is a minor planet in the main belt orbiting the Sun. It is the lowest numbered, and thus the namesake, of the Mildred family of asteroids, a subgroup of the Nysa family.^[3] The Mildred subgroup, and by extension 878 Mildred itself, is thought to have been formed by a recent fragmentation event from a larger asteroid.^[3]

Discovery[]

878 Mildred was originally discovered in 1916 using the 1.5 m Hale Telescope at the Mount Wilson Observatory, but was subsequently lost until it was again observed on single nights in 1985 and 1991 (a lost asteroid).^[2] Initially only two observations of the asteroid were taken on 1916-09-06 which does not allow for an accurate orbital determination, however interest in the object prompted further investigation and more measurements were taken in late September and October.^[4] The asteroid was re-discovered in 1991 by Gareth V. Williams.^[5] It is named after Mildred Shapley Matthews.

Physical properties[]

By comparing the asteroid's perceived brightness and the then computed distance from the Sun they arrived at an absolute visual magnitude of 14.3, which if one assumes Mars-like albedo gives an approximate diameter of 3 to 5 kilometers.^[4]

References[]

External links[]

• Minor Planet Center Database entry on (878) Mildred
• 878 Mildred at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
• 878 Mildred at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit diagram · Orbital elements · Physical parameters

This article about an S-type asteroid native to the asteroid belt is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .

• v
• t