File:000315-asteroid_shape_model_(315)_Constantia.png · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
OverviewAI-generated
315 Constantia is an asteroid located in the asteroid belt that orbits the Sun. It was discovered by Johann Palisa at the Vienna Observatory on September 4, 1891. The object carries the provisional designation A891 RB and is named after consistency. It follows 314 Rosalia in its orbital sequence.
The asteroid has a diameter of 6.534 kilometers and an albedo of 0.217. Its rotation period is 5.345 hours. Orbital parameters include a semi-major axis of 2.2413263223404, an eccentricity of 0.1681294407996443, and an inclination of 2.429397136111625. The periapsis is 1.864493381115785 and the apoapsis is 2.618159263565014.
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
315 Constantia (A891 RB)
- Orbit class
- Main-belt Asteroid
- Diameter
- 6.534 km
- Albedo
- 0.217
- Rotation period
- 5.345 h
- Absolute magnitude
- 12.560 H
- Earth MOID
- 0.853 AU
via NASA/JPL Small-Body Database
Key facts
- Discovered by
- Johann Palisa
- Discovery date
- 4 September 1891
- Pronunciation
- / k ə n ˈ s t æ n ʃ ( i ) ə /
- Named after
- constancy ( virtue )
- Minor planet category
- main-belt
- Observation arc
- 87.27 yr (31874 d)
- Aphelion
- 2.61963 AU (391.891 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 1.86231 AU (278.598 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 2.24097 AU (335.244 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 3.35 yr (1225.3 d )
- Average orbital speed
- 19.9 km/s
- Mean anomaly
- 86.6748 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 17 37.673 / day
- Inclination
- 2.42916°
- Longitude of ascending node
- 161.661°
- Argument of perihelion
- 172.807°
- Dimensions
- 5 - 12 km
- Synodic rotation period
- 5.345 h (0.2227 d )
via Wikipedia infobox
~1 min read
Encyclopedic overview
315 Constantia is a stony background asteroid from the inner region of the asteroid belt, approximately 6.5 kilometers (4 miles) in diameter. It was discovered by Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa at the Vienna Observatory on 4 September 1891. The asteroid is a member of the Flora family. It is spinning with a rotation period of 5.345±0.003 h and shows a brightness variation of 0.57±0.2 in magnitude.
References
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “315 Constantia” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.