Remus (moon)
synchronous[c] | |
unknown, zero expected | |
11.1[3] | |
Remus is the inner and smaller moon of the
Discovery and naming
Remus was discovered several years after Romulus on images taken starting on August 9, 2004, and announced on August 10, 2005. It was discovered by
Its full designation is (87) Sylvia II Remus; before receiving its name, it was known as S/2004 (87) 1. The moon is named after Remus, twin of the mythological founder of Rome, one of the children of Rhea Silvia raised by a wolf.
Characteristics
87 Sylvia has a low density, which indicates that it is probably a rubble pile asteroid formed when debris from a collision between its parent body and another asteroid re-accreted gravitationally. Thus it is likely that both Remus and Romulus are smaller rubble piles which accreted in orbit around the main body from debris of the same collision. In this case their albedo and density are expected to be similar to Sylvia's.[3]
Remus's orbit is expected to be quite stable: it lies far inside Sylvia's
From Remus's surface, Sylvia appears huge, taking up an angular region roughly 30°×18° across, while Romulus's apparent size varies between 1.6° and 0.5° across.
See also
Notes
- ^ Assuming the same albedo as Sylvia
- ^ Assuming same density and albedo as Sylvia
- ^ Based on a rough tidal locking timescale of several tens of My.
References
External links
- Data on (87) Sylvia from Johnston's archive (maintained by W. R. Johnston)
- Rubble-Pile Minor Planet Sylvia and Her Twins Archived 2008-07-24 at the Wayback Machine (ESO news release, August 2005) Includes images and artists impressions
- IAUC 8582, reporting discovery of S/2004 (87) 1 and naming Romulus and Remus