85 Io (eye'-oh) is a large, dark Main belt asteroid of the C spectral class. It is probably a primitive body composed of carbonates. Like 70 Panopaea it orbits within the Eunomia asteroid family but it is not related to the shattered parent body.
Io is a retrograde rotator, with its pole pointing towards one of ecliptic coordinates (β, λ) = (-45°, 105°) or (-15°, 295°) with a 10° uncertainty[1]. This gives an axial tilt of about 125° or 115°, respectively. Its shape is quite regular.
It was discovered by C. H. F. Peters on September 19, 1865 and named after Io, a lover of Zeus in Greek mythology.
An Ionian diameter of 178 kilometres was measured from an occultation of a star on December 10, 1995 [4].
Io is also the name of the volcanic satellite of Jupiter. With a two-digit number and a two-letter name, 85 Io has the shortest designation of all minor planets.
External links
References
- J. Torppa et al Shapes and rotational properties of thirty asteroids from photometric data, Icarus, Vol. 164, p. 346 (2003).
- PDS lightcurve data
- A. Erikson Photometric observations and modelling of the asteroid 85 Io in conjunction with data from an occultation event during the 1995-96 apparition, Planetary and Space Science, Vol. 47, p. 327 (1999).
- G. A. Krasinsky et al Hidden Mass in the Asteroid Belt, Icarus, Vol. 158, p. 98 (2002).
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Last updated on Thursday May 29, 2008 at 10:44:00 PDT (GMT -0700)
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