105 Artemis

Also known as (105) Artemis, Artemis

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: James Craig Watson
Discovery date: 16 September 1868
Pronunciation: / ˈ ɑːr t ə m ə s /
Named after: Artemis
Alternative designations: A868 SA
Minor planet category: Main belt
Adjectives: Artemidean / Artemidian / ɑːr t ə ˈ m ɪ d i ə n / Artemisian / ɑːr t ə ˈ m ɪ z i ə n /
Observation arc: 100.79 yr (36812 d)
Aphelion: 2.7952 AU (418.16 Gm )
Perihelion: 1.95119 AU (291.894 Gm)
Semi major axis: 2.37319 AU (355.024 Gm)
Orbital period sidereal: 3.66 yr (1335.4 d )
Average orbital speed: 19.18 km/s
Mean anomaly: 256.90 °
Mean motion: 0° 16 10.524 / day
Inclination: 21.444°
Longitude of ascending node: 188.264°
Argument of perihelion: 57.077°

via Wikipedia infobox

~2 min read

Encyclopedic overview

105 Artemis is a main-belt asteroid that was discovered by J. C. Watson on September 16, 1868, at Ann Arbor, Michigan. It was named after Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, Moon, and crossways in Greek mythology.

It is a C-type asteroid, meaning that it is very dark and composed of carbonaceous material. Although it shares a similar orbit to the Phocaea family of S-type asteroids, its classification means 105 Artemis is not a member. The spectra of the asteroid displays evidence of aqueous alteration.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “105 Artemis” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.