287 Nephthys

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

287 Nephthys (A889 QA)

Orbit class

Main-belt Asteroid

Diameter

59.615 km

Albedo

0.238

Rotation period

7.605 h

Absolute magnitude

8.250 H

Earth MOID

1.290 AU

via NASA/JPL Small-Body Database

Key facts

Discovered by

C. H. F. Peters

Discovery date

25 August 1889

Pronunciation

/ ˈ n ɛ f θ ɪ s /

Named after

Nephthys

Alternative designations

A889 PB

Minor planet category

Main belt

Observation arc

119.35 yr (43594 d)

Aphelion

2.4080 AU (360.23 Gm )

Perihelion

2.29814 AU (343.797 Gm)

Semi major axis

2.3531 AU (352.02 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

3.61 yr (1318.4 d )

Mean anomaly

125.74 °

Mean motion

0° 16 23.016 / day

Inclination

10.034°

Longitude of ascending node

142.381°

Time of perihelion

2022-Jul-13

Argument of perihelion

121.02°

Dimensions

67.60 ± 1.4 km

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Diameter

59.615

Orbital period

1318.28474988953

Image

000287-asteroid shape model (287) Nephthys.png

via Wikidata · CC0