2 Pallas

2 Pallas is the second asteroid to have been discovered, following 1 Ceres. It was discovered by Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias Olbers on March 28, 1802, and is one of the largest asteroids in the Solar System. With a mean diameter of about 512 kilometers, Pallas is the third-largest asteroid, after Ceres and 4 Vesta, and it constitutes about 7% of the mass of the asteroid belt. Its discovery contributed significantly to the early understanding of the nature of asteroids and the structure of our solar system.

Discovery and Naming

The discovery of 2 Pallas was made by Olbers from Bremen, Germany. The asteroid was named after Pallas Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, an appropriate name given the scientific excitement and enlightenment its discovery brought. The naming convention of using numbers followed by the name of the celestial body was established with the discovery of asteroids, starting with Ceres.

Physical Characteristics

2 Pallas is notable for its somewhat irregular shape and large inclination of its orbital plane relative to the ecliptic plane, at about 34.8 degrees. This is unusually high compared to most other bodies in the asteroid belt. Its composition is believed to be a silicate rock similar to that of many stony meteorites. Pallas has a very slow rotation period of about 7.8 hours.

The surface of Pallas is heavily cratered, indicating its old age and the many collisions it has experienced over the billions of years of its existence. Spectroscopic analysis suggests that Pallas's surface might be composed of a mixture of silicate rock and water ice, similar to that of Ceres.

Orbit and Classification

Pallas follows an orbit around the Sun that takes it as close as 2.13 astronomical units (AU) and as far as 3.41 AU. Its orbit is highly elliptical, a characteristic that is common among many asteroids in the asteroid belt.

Pallas is classified as a B-type asteroid, a classification that indicates its surface has a high content of carbon and possibly organic compounds. This classification makes Pallas an object of significant interest for studies on the early Solar System and the origins of organic materials.

Exploration

As of now, no spacecraft has visited 2 Pallas. However, its large size and the scientific interest in B-type asteroids make it a potential target for future missions. The study of Pallas, both from Earth-based observations and potential space missions, continues to provide valuable insights into the early Solar System, the formation of planets, and the origin of water and organic compounds on Earth.

See Also

• Asteroid belt
• 1 Ceres
• 4 Vesta
• Asteroid mining
• History of astronomy