1206 Numerowia

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

K. Reinmuth

Discovery site

Heidelberg Obs.

Discovery date

18 October 1931

Named after

Boris Numerov , (Russian astronomer)

Alternative designations

1931 UH · 1974 QE, 1974 TY 1

Minor planet category

main-belt · ( outer )

Observation arc

85.63 yr (31,276 days)

Aphelion

3.0180 AU

Perihelion

2.7123 AU

Semi major axis

2.8651 AU

Orbital period sidereal

4.85 yr (1,771 days)

Mean anomaly

38.115 °

Mean motion

0° 12 11.52 / day

Inclination

13.003°

Longitude of ascending node

324.44°

Argument of perihelion

277.42°

Dimensions

14.173 ± 0.092 km , 14.534 ± 0.264 km , 15.63 ± 1.09 km , 27.90 km (calculated)

Synodic rotation period

4.7743 ± 0.0013 h , 4.775 29 ± 0.000 01 h

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of

asteroid

Named after

Boris Numerov

Followed by

1207 Ostenia

Follows

1205 Ebella

Parent body

Sun

Minor-planet group

asteroid belt

Diameter

14.534

Orbital period

1771.711502680279

Image

001206-asteroid shape model (1206) Numerowia.png

via Wikidata · CC0