79 Eurynome

Also known as (79) Eurynome, Eurynome

main-belt asteroid

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

79 Eurynome (A863 RA)

Orbit class: Main-belt Asteroid
Diameter: 63.479 km
Albedo: 0.287
Rotation period: 5.978 h
Absolute magnitude: 7.780 H

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Article

79 Eurynome is a quite large and bright main-belt asteroid composed of silicate rock. Eurynome was discovered by J. C. Watson on September 14, 1863. It was his first asteroid discovery and is named after one of the many Eurynomes in Greek mythology. It is orbiting the Sun with a period of 3.82 years and has a rotation period of six hours. This is the eponymous member of a proposed asteroid family with at least 43 members, including 477 Italia and 917 Lyka.

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