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2 Pallas

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An telescope image of Pallas

2 Pallas (symbol: ⚴) is the second asteroid discovered in the solar system. It was discovered by Heinrich Wilhelm Matthäus Olbers on March 28, 1802.[1] 2 Pallas is named after Pallas Athena, an alternate name for the goddess Athena.[2]

2 Pallas has a mass estimated to be 7% of the total mass of the asteroid belt.[3] The asteroid is the third largest asteroid in terms of mass and the second largest in terms of diameter.

References

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  1. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. 2011. Retrieved March 21, 2011.
  2. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of minor planet names, Volume 1. Springer. p. 15. ISBN 3540002383. Retrieved March 21, 2011.
  3. Pitjeva, E. V. (2005). "High-Precision Ephemerides of Planets—EPM and Determination of Some Astronomical Constants" (PDF). Solar System Research. 39 (3): 176. doi:10.1007/s11208-005-0033-2. S2CID 120467483. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-09-07. Retrieved 2011-03-23.