Ate (minor planet designation: 111 Ate) is a main-belt asteroid discovered by the German-American astronomer C. H. F. Peters on August 14, 1870,[6] and named after Ate, the goddess of mischief and destruction in Greek mythology. In the Tholen classification system, it is categorized as a carbonaceous C-type asteroid, while the Bus asteroid taxonomy system lists it as an Ch asteroid.[5]

111 Ate
Orbital diagram
Discovery
Discovered byChristian Heinrich Friedrich Peters
Discovery date14 August 1870
Designations
(111) Ate
Pronunciation/ˈt/[1]
Named after
Ate
A870 PA; 1911 KE;
1935 AA
Main belt
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc145.66 yr (53202 d)
Aphelion2.8614 AU (428.06 Gm)
Perihelion2.32553 AU (347.894 Gm)
2.59349 AU (387.981 Gm)
Eccentricity0.10332
4.18 yr (1525.5 d)
18.44 km/s
190.607°
0° 14m 9.532s / day
Inclination4.9318°
305.757°
166.424°
Earth MOID1.34088 AU (200.593 Gm)
Jupiter MOID2.23131 AU (333.799 Gm)
TJupiter3.406
Physical characteristics
Dimensions126.34 km[2]
142.85 ± 5.94 km[3]
Mass(1.76 ± 0.44) × 1018 kg[3]
Mean density
1.15 ± 0.32 g/cm3[3]
Equatorial surface gravity
0.0376 m/s²
Equatorial escape velocity
0.0712 km/s
22.072 h (0.9197 d)[2]
22.072 ± 0.001 h[4]
0.0605±0.004
Temperature~173 K
C[5]
8.02

Two stellar occultations by Ate were observed in 2000, two months apart. Its occultation of the star HIP 2559 was used to determine a chord length of 125.6 ± 7.2 km through the asteroid, giving a lower bound on the maximum dimension.[7] During 2000, 111 Ate was observed by radar from the Arecibo Observatory. The return signal matched an effective diameter of 135 ± 15 km.[8] The estimated size of this asteroid is 143 km,[3] making it one of the larger asteroids.

Based upon an irregular light curve generated from photometric observations of this asteroid at Pulkovo Observatory, it has a rotation period of 22.072 ± 0.001 hours and varies in brightness by 0.12 ± 0.01 in magnitude.[4]

References