Q149417

Also known as (253) Mathilde, Mathilde

asteroid

AI overview

Q149417 is an asteroid, one of countless rocky objects that orbit the Sun in our solar system. Understanding asteroids like this one helps scientists learn about the early formation of our solar system and assess potential risks from space objects.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

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: J. Palisa
Discovery site: Vienna Obs.
Discovery date: 12 November 1885
Pronunciation: / m ə ˈ t ɪ l d ə /
Named after: Mathilde Loewy
Alternative designations: A885 VA, 1915 TN, 1949 OL 1
Minor planet category: Main belt
Observation arc: 130.38 yr (47622 d)
Aphelion: 3.35003411 AU (501.157970 Gm )
Perihelion: 1.9467702 AU (291.23268 Gm)
Semi major axis: 2.648402147 AU (396.1953219 Gm)
Orbital period sidereal: 4.31 yr (1574.3 d )
Average orbital speed: 17.98 km/s
Mean anomaly: 170.584348 °
Mean motion: 0° 13 43.248 / day
Inclination: 6.7427122°
Longitude of ascending node: 179.58936°
Argument of perihelion: 157.39642°

via Wikipedia infobox

~6 min read

Encyclopedic overview

253 Mathilde is an asteroid in the intermediate asteroid belt, approximately 50 kilometers in diameter, that was discovered by Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa at Vienna Observatory on 12 November 1885. It has a relatively elliptical orbit that requires more than four years to circle the Sun. This tumbling asteroid has an unusually slow rate of rotation, requiring 17.4 days to complete a 360° revolution about its axis. It is a primitive C-type asteroid, which means the surface has a high proportion of carbon; giving it a dark surface that reflects only 4% of the light that falls on it.

Mathilde was visited by the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft during June 1997, on its way to asteroid 433 Eros. During the short flyby, the spacecraft imaged a hemisphere of the asteroid, revealing many large craters that had gouged out depressions in the surface. It was the first carbonaceous asteroid to be explored and, until 21 Lutetia was visited in 2010, it was the largest asteroid to be visited by a spacecraft.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Q149417” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.