484 Pittsburghia

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

Max Wolf

Discovery site

Heidelberg

Discovery date

29 April 1902

Pronunciation

/ p ɪ t s ˈ b ɜːr ɡ i ə /

Alternative designations

1902 HX

Observation arc

113.95 yr (41620 d)

Aphelion

2.8208 AU (421.99 Gm )

Perihelion

2.5141 AU (376.10 Gm)

Semi major axis

2.6674 AU (399.04 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

4.36 yr (1591.3 d )

Mean anomaly

344.592 °

Mean motion

0° 13 34.464 / day

Inclination

12.512°

Longitude of ascending node

127.276°

Argument of perihelion

191.618°

Mean radius

15.805 ± 1.05 km

Synodic rotation period

10.63 h (0.443 d )

Geometric albedo

0.2012 ± 0.030

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of

asteroid

Named after

Pittsburgh

Followed by

485 Genua

Follows

483 Seppina

Parent body

Sun

Minor-planet group

asteroid belt

Diameter

30.06

Orbital period

1591.208164275884

Image

484Pittsburghia (Lightcurve Inversion).png

via Wikidata · CC0