File:000287-asteroid_shape_model_(287)_Nephthys.png · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
OverviewAI-generated
287 Nephthys is an S-type asteroid located in the asteroid belt, orbiting the Sun. It was discovered on August 25, 1889, by Christian Heinrich Friedrich Peters at the Litchfield Observatory. The object received the provisional designation A889 QA and is named after Nephthys.
Physically, the asteroid has a diameter of 59.615 kilometers and an albedo of 0.238. Its rotation period is 7.605 hours, and its absolute magnitude is listed as 8.26 in some records and 8.25 in others. Orbital parameters include a semi-major axis of 2.352920214297502 AU, an eccentricity of 0.02371253124950252, and an inclination of 10.03368070770138 degrees. The periapsis is 2.297126520188386 AU, while the apoapsis is 2.408713908406618 AU.
Synthesized by Vinony from 35 facts across 4 sources: Wikidata, NASA, Jpl Sbdb, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
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
Small body data
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
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Named after
- Nephthys
- Followed by
- 288 Glauke
- Follows
- 286 Iclea
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- 59.615
- Orbital period
- 1318.28474988953
- Image
- 000287-asteroid shape model (287) Nephthys.png
Show 19 more facts
- discoverer or inventor
- Christian Heinrich Friedrich Peters
- site of astronomical discovery
- Litchfield Observatory
- time of discovery or invention
- 1889-08-25
- asteroid spectral type
- S-type asteroid
- orbital inclination
- 10.03368070770138
- Commons category
- 287 Nephthys
- provisional designation
- A889 QA
- albedo
- 0.238
- rotation period
- 7.605
- absolute magnitude
- 8.26
- orbital eccentricity
- 0.02371253124950252
- semi-major axis of an orbit
- 2.352920214297502
- periapsis
- 2.297126520188386
- apoapsis
- 2.408713908406618
- longitude of ascending node
- 142.2291164942444
- argument of periapsis
- 122.6317283074214
- mean anomaly
- 332.6410489085376
- time of periapsis
- 2461100.6857999912
- epoch
- November 21, 2025
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
~1 min read
Encyclopedic overview
287 Nephthys is a large Main belt asteroid that was discovered by German-American astronomer C. H. F. Peters on August 25, 1889, in Clinton, New York and named after the goddess, Nephthys in Egyptian mythology. It is classified as an S-type asteroid.
References
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “287 Nephthys” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.