(617) Patroclus

Template: Infobox Asteroid / Maintenance / Error 1

( 617) Patroclus is an asteroid from the group of Trojans. It refers to asteroids that run on the path of Jupiter around the Sun.

Patroclus was discovered in 1906 as the second Trojan. He was named after the warrior Patroclus from Greek mythology.

Patroclus is located near Jupiter's Lagrange point L5. His train runs between 4,506 ( perihelion ) and 5.951 ( aphelion ) astronomical units and is strongly inclined at 22.0 ° to the ecliptic. The orbital eccentricity is 0.138.

While the opposition Patroclus reaches a brightness of 16.2 mag. It is thus a very light faint object in the night sky.

Patroclus ' diameter was earlier estimated to be about 150 km. Studies with the Keck II telescope on Mauna Kea in Hawaii revealed the dual nature of the asteroid. Next Patroclus with a diameter of 122 km, there is a second component called S/2001 (617) 1 and the name Menoetius whose diameter is estimated to be 113 km. Patroclus is therefore a double asteroid whose components move at a distance of about 680 km apart around the common center of gravity.