OverviewAI-generated
578 Happelia is an asteroid located in the asteroid belt that orbits the Sun. It was discovered by Max Wolf on November 1, 1905, at the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory. The object has received several provisional designations, including A905 VJ, 1958 HN, and A899 KA. It is classified as an X-type asteroid.
The asteroid has a diameter of 69.29 kilometers and an albedo of 0.0769. Its rotation period is 10.061 hours. Orbital parameters include a semi-major axis of 2.750456354057982, an eccentricity of 0.1951444799890943, and an inclination of 6.153. The periapsis is 2.213719979112637, while the apoapsis is 3.287192729003327. The absolute magnitude is listed as 9.55 in one source and 9.54 in another.
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
578 Happelia (A905 VJ)
- Orbit class
- Main-belt Asteroid
- Diameter
- 69.290 km
- Albedo
- 0.077
- Rotation period
- 10.061 h
- Absolute magnitude
- 9.540 H
- Earth MOID
- 1.210 AU
via NASA/JPL Small-Body Database
Key facts
- Discovered by
- M. F. Wolf
- Discovery site
- Heidelberg
- Discovery date
- 1 November 1905
- Alternative designations
- 1905 RZ
- Observation arc
- 110.46 yr (40344 d)
- Aphelion
- 3.2821 AU (491.00 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.2168 AU (331.63 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 2.7494 AU (411.30 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 4.56 yr (1665.2 d )
- Mean anomaly
- 200.53 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 12 58.284 / day
- Inclination
- 6.1525°
- Longitude of ascending node
- 29.411°
- Argument of perihelion
- 261.400°
- Mean radius
- 34.645 ± 1.05 km
- Synodic rotation period
- 10.061 h (0.4192 d )
- Geometric albedo
- 0.0769 ± 0.005
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Followed by
- Q155655
- Follows
- Q155650
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- 69.29
- Orbital period
- 1666.117259835041
- Image
- 578Happelia (Lightcurve Inversion).png
Show 19 more facts
- discoverer or inventor
- Max Wolf
- site of astronomical discovery
- Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory
- provisional designation
- A899 KA
- time of discovery or invention
- 1905-11-01
- orbital inclination
- 6.12685537698189
- Commons category
- 578 Happelia
- albedo
- 0.0769
- rotation period
- 10.061
- asteroid spectral type
- X-type asteroid
- absolute magnitude
- 9.55
- orbital eccentricity
- 0.1951444799890943
- semi-major axis of an orbit
- 2.750456354057982
- periapsis
- 2.213719979112637
- apoapsis
- 3.287192729003327
- longitude of ascending node
- 29.05942317054888
- argument of periapsis
- 262.6741108558952
- mean anomaly
- 213.4104714244944
- time of periapsis
- 2461678.9315101965
- epoch
- November 21, 2025
via Wikidata · CC0
~1 min read
Encyclopedic overview
578 Happelia is a minor planet orbiting the Sun. On 24 February 2017 a possible small 3-kilometer moon was found orbiting the asteroid, based on occultation observations.
References
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “578 Happelia” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.