260 Huberta

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

Johann Palisa

Discovery date

3 October 1886

Pronunciation

/ h juː ˈ b ɜːr t ə /

Named after

Hubertus

Alternative designations

A886 TA, 1906 VH, 1911 ME

Minor planet category

Main belt ( Cybele )

Observation arc

109.37 yr (39947 d)

Aphelion

3.84026 AU (574.495 Gm )

Perihelion

3.04743 AU (455.889 Gm)

Semi major axis

3.44384 AU (515.191 Gm)

Orbital period sidereal

6.39 yr (2334.3 d )

Average orbital speed

16.05 km/s

Mean anomaly

110.638 °

Mean motion

0° 9 15.188 / day

Inclination

6.41599°

Longitude of ascending node

165.393°

Argument of perihelion

180.996°

Dimensions

94.67 ± 3.6 km

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Diameter

101.539

Orbital period

2343.64694097809

Image

260Huberta (Lightcurve Inversion).png

via Wikidata · CC0