257 Silesia

Picture of the Day · NASA

Pathfinder on Mars

2026-07-04

On July 4th, 1997, using its own array of fireworks, a parachute, and a cocoon of airbags, the Mars Pathfinder spacecraft bounced like a giant beach ball at least 15 times before it came to rest on the surface of Mars at 10:07 AM Pacific Daylight Time. After its then novel airbag-assisted landing sequence was completed, Pathfinder transmitted this color mosaic to mission operators on Earth. In the scene from another world, the Mars Sojourner robot rover is visible in the foreground, crouched on top of the unfolded Pathfinder. About the size of a large house cat, the six-wheeled, solar-powered Sojourner became the first successful Martian rover. Surrounding Pathfinder are deflated airbags and the rock-strewn terrain of the Ares Vallis floodplain. In the distance Martian hills appear against a dusty brownish sky. The Pathfinder lander was subsequently renamed the Carl Sagan Memorial Station.

via NASA APOD

Key facts

Discovered by

J. Palisa

Discovery site

Vienna Observatory

Discovery date

5 April 1886

Pronunciation

/ s aɪ ˈ l iː ʃ i ə /

Named after

Silesia (region)

Alternative designations

A886 GB, 1929 DD, 1952 FL 1 , 1952 HU

Minor planet category

main-belt

Observation arc

129.94 yr (47462 d)

Aphelion

3.4669 AU (518.64 Gm )

Perihelion

2.7711 AU (414.55 Gm)

Semi major axis

3.1190 AU (466.60 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

5.51 yr (2012.0 d )

Mean anomaly

30.606 °

Mean motion

0° 10 44.148 / day

Inclination

3.6351°

Longitude of ascending node

34.364°

Argument of perihelion

27.605°

Earth moid

1.78299 AU (266.732 Gm)

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of

asteroid

Named after

Silesia

Followed by

258 Tyche

Follows

256 Walpurga

Parent body

Sun

Minor-planet group

asteroid belt

Diameter

72.66

Orbital period

2012.212444247866

Image

257Silesia (Lightcurve Inversion).png

via Wikidata · CC0