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5335 Damocles

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Also known as Damocles

asteroid

Key facts

Discovered by
R. H. McNaught
Discovery site
Siding Spring Obs.
Discovery date
18 February 1991
Pronunciation
/ ˈ d æ m ə k l iː z /
Named after
Damocles ( Greek mythology )
Alternative designations
1991 DA
Minor planet category
distant , centaur · damocloid
Adjectives
Damoclean ( /dæməˈkliːən/ )
Symbol
(astrological)
Observation arc
1.51 yr (551 days)
Aphelion
22.078 AU
Perihelion
1.5741 AU
Semi major axis
11.826 AU
Orbital period sidereal
40.67 Jyr (14,854 days)
Mean anomaly
236.35 °
Mean motion
0° 1 27.12 / day
Inclination
61.875°
Longitude of ascending node
314.14°

via Wikipedia infobox

~3 min read

Encyclopedic overview

5335 Damocles /ˈdæməkliːz/, provisional designation 1991 DA, is an astronomical centaur and the namesake of the damocloids, a group of minor planets which may be inactive nuclei of the Halley-type and long-period comets. It was discovered on 18 February 1991, by Australian astronomer Robert McNaught at Siding Spring Observatory in Australia. It is named after Damocles, a figure of Greek mythology.

Description

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “5335 Damocles” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.