361 Bononia

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

Auguste Charlois

Discovery date

11 March 1893

Pronunciation

/ b ə ˈ n oʊ n i ə /

Named after

Bologna (Bonōnia)

Alternative designations

1893 P

Minor planet category

Main belt ( Hilda )

Adjectives

Bononian

Observation arc

114.83 yr (41940 d)

Aphelion

4.80719 AU (719.145 Gm )

Perihelion

3.11281 AU (465.670 Gm)

Semi major axis

3.96000 AU (592.408 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

7.88 yr (2878.3 d )

Mean anomaly

329.195 °

Mean motion

0° 7 30.259 / day

Inclination

12.6264°

Longitude of ascending node

18.8738°

Argument of perihelion

68.3637°

Dimensions

141.72 ± 6.9 km

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of

asteroid

Named after

Bologna

Followed by

362 Havnia

Follows

360 Carlova

Parent body

Sun

Diameter

154.334

Orbital period

2898.669967671064

Image

000361-asteroid shape model (361) Bononia.png

via Wikidata · CC0