File:808Merxia_(Lightcurve_Inversion).png · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
808 Merxia
Also known as (808) Merxia, Merxia
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
Key facts
- Discovered by
- Luigi Carnera
- Discovery site
- Heidelberg Observatory
- Discovery date
- 11 October 1901
- Alternative designations
- 1901 GY
- Minor planet category
- main belt Merxia
~2 min read
Article
808 Merxia is a minor planet orbiting the Sun. It forms the namesake for the Merxia family of asteroids that share common orbital elements and physical properties. A semimajor axis of 2.75 AU with a moderate orbital eccentricity of 0.126 carries it from 2.40 to 3.09 AU away from the Sun with a period of 4.55 years. Its orbital plane is inclined at an angle of 4.7° relative to the plane of the ecliptic.
The spectrum of this object indicates that it is an S-type asteroid with both low and high calcium forms of pyroxene on the surface, along with less than 20% olivine. The high-calcium form of pyroxene forms 40% or more of the total pyroxene present, indicating a history of igneous rock deposits. This suggests that the asteroid underwent differentiation by melting, creating a surface of basalt rock.