Petit-Prince (moon)
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | W. J. Merline, L. M. Close, C. Dumas, C. R. Chapman, F. Roddier, F. Menard, D. C. Slater, G. Duvert, J. C. Shelton, T. Morgan |
| Discovery date | 1 November 1998 |
| Designations | |
| (45) Eugenia I | |
| Pronunciation | /ˌpɛtiˈprɪns/ French: [pətipʁɛ̃s] |
Named after | Napoléon, Prince Imperial and The Little Prince |
| Main belt | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| 1184 ± 12 km | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0100 ± 0.0002 |
| 4.766 ± 0.001 d | |
Average orbital speed | 18.1 m/s |
| Inclination | 7.0 ± 0.1° (with respect to Eugenia equator) |
| Satellite of | 45 Eugenia |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | ~ 13 km (estimate) |
| Mass | ~ 1.2×1015 kg (estimate) |
Equatorial escape velocity | ~ 5 m/s (estimate) |
| 13.6 | |
Petit-Prince, formal designation (45) Eugenia I, is the larger, outer moon of asteroid 45 Eugenia. It was discovered in 1998 by astronomers at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Initially, it received the provisional designation S/1998 (45) 1. Petit-Prince was the first asteroid moon to be discovered with a ground-based telescope. Previously, the only known moon of an asteroid was Dactyl, discovered by the Galileo space probe, around 243 Ida.