65 Cybele

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

E. W. Tempel

Discovery site

Marseille Obs.

Discovery date

8 March 1861

Pronunciation

/ ˈ s ɪ b ə l iː /

Named after

Cybele , (Hellenistic deity)

Alternative designations

1949 YQ

Minor planet category

main belt · ( outer ) , Cybele

Adjectives

Cybelean / ˌ s ɪ b ə ˈ l iː ə n / , rarely Cybelian / s ɪ ˈ b ɛ l i ə n /

Observation arc

155.98 yr (56,971 d )

Aphelion

3.8102 AU

Perihelion

3.0464 AU

Semi major axis

3.4283 AU

Orbital period sidereal

6.35 yr (2,319 days)

Mean anomaly

168.06 °

Mean motion

0° 9 19.08 / day

Inclination

3.5627°

Longitude of ascending node

155.63°

Argument of perihelion

102.37°

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of

asteroid

Named after

Cybele

Followed by

66 Maja

Follows

64 Angelina

Parent body

Sun

Diameter

237.26

Orbital period

2297.651769014972

Image

000065-asteroid shape model (65) Cybele.png

via Wikidata · CC0