File:50_Virginia_Model.png · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
OverviewAI-generated
50 Virginia is an asteroid located in the asteroid belt, orbiting the Sun. It was discovered by James Ferguson on October 4, 1857, at the Old Naval Observatory. The object has a diameter of 84.074 kilometers and an albedo of 0.05. Its spectral type is classified as both an X-type and a C-type asteroid.
The asteroid’s orbital parameters include a semi-major axis of 2.651119342669384, an orbital eccentricity of 0.2845556549377096, and an orbital inclination of 2.839129814712735. Its periapsis is 1.896728341798068 and its apoapsis is 3.4055103435407. The longitude of the ascending node is 173.4481449633539. With a rotation period of 14.315 hours and an absolute magnitude of 9.44, 50 Virginia is named after Verginia. It follows 49 Pales and is followed by 51 Nemausa.
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
50 Virginia (A857 TA)
- Orbit class
- Main-belt Asteroid
- Diameter
- 84.074 km
- Albedo
- 0.050
- Rotation period
- 14.315 h
- Absolute magnitude
- 9.420 H
- Earth MOID
- 0.897 AU
via NASA/JPL Small-Body Database
Key facts
- Discovered by
- Karl Theodor Robert Luther , James Ferguson
- Discovery date
- October 4, 1857
- Pronunciation
- / v ər ˈ dʒ ɪ n i ə /
- Named after
- Verginia or Virginia
- Minor planet category
- Main belt
- Aphelion
- 509.817 million km (3.408 AU)
- Perihelion
- 283.389 million km (1.894 AU)
- Semi major axis
- 396.603 million km (2.651 AU )
- Orbital period sidereal
- 1,576.682 d (4.32 a )
- Mean anomaly
- 210.994°
- Inclination
- 2.834°
- Longitude of ascending node
- 173.773°
- Argument of perihelion
- 199.961°
- Dimensions
- 99.8 km
- Mass
- (2.31 ± 0.70) × 10 kg
- Mean density
- 4.49 ± 1.35 g/cm
- Synodic rotation period
- 14.31 h
- Spectral type
- Ch
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Named after
- Verginia
- Followed by
- 51 Nemausa
- Follows
- 49 Pales
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- 84.074
- Orbital period
- 1576.675591631411
Show 19 more facts
- discoverer or inventor
- James Ferguson
- site of astronomical discovery
- Old Naval Observatory
- provisional designation
- A857 TA
- time of discovery or invention
- 1857-10-04
- asteroid spectral type
- C-type asteroid
- orbital inclination
- 2.839129814712735
- albedo
- 0.05
- Commons category
- 50 Virginia
- rotation period
- 14.315
- absolute magnitude
- 9.44
- orbital eccentricity
- 0.2845556549377096
- semi-major axis of an orbit
- 2.651119342669384
- periapsis
- 1.896728341798068
- apoapsis
- 3.4055103435407
- longitude of ascending node
- 173.4481449633539
- argument of periapsis
- 200.0820077884972
- mean anomaly
- 346.6184752945691
- time of periapsis
- 2461059.1064538383
- epoch
- November 21, 2025
Sources (3)
via Wikidata · CC0
~2 min read
Encyclopedic overview
50 Virginia is a large, very dark main belt asteroid. It was discovered by American astronomer James Ferguson on October 4, 1857, from the United States Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. German astronomer Robert Luther discovered it independently on October 19 from Düsseldorf, and his discovery was announced first.
The reason for Virginia's name is not known; it may be named after Verginia, the Roman noblewoman slain by her father, but it may alternatively have been named after the American state of Virginia.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “50 Virginia” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.