79 Eurynome

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

79 Eurynome (A863 RA)

Orbit class

Main-belt Asteroid

Diameter

63.479 km

Albedo

0.287

Rotation period

5.978 h

Absolute magnitude

7.780 H

Earth MOID

0.987 AU

via NASA/JPL Small-Body Database

Key facts

Discovered by

James Craig Watson

Discovery date

September 14, 1863

Pronunciation

/ j ʊ ˈ r ɪ n ə m iː /

Named after

Eurynome

Minor planet category

Main belt

Adjectives

Eurynomean, Eurynomian

Aphelion

435.949 million km (2.914 AU)

Perihelion

295.538 million km (1.976 AU)

Semi major axis

365.743 million km (2.445 AU )

Orbital period sidereal

1396.288 d (3.82 a )

Average orbital speed

18.87 km/s

Mean anomaly

149.498°

Inclination

4.622°

Longitude of ascending node

206.802°

Argument of perihelion

200.384°

Dimensions

66.5 km

Synodic rotation period

5.978 h

Spectral type

S

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Diameter

63.479

Orbital period

1395.518682684264

Image

79Eurynome (Lightcurve Inversion).png

via Wikidata · CC0