109 Felicitas

109 Felicitas is a dark and fairly large main-belt asteroid. It was discovered by German-American astronomer C. H. F. Peters on 9 October 1869, and named after Felicitas, the Roman goddess of success.^[5] The only observed stellar occultation by Felicitas is one from Japan on 29 March 2003.^[6]

109 Felicitas

3D convex shape model of 109 Felicitas
Discovery
Discovered by	Christian Heinrich Friedrich Peters
Discovery date	9 October 1869
Designations
MPC designation	(109) Felicitas
Pronunciation	/fɪˈlɪsɪtæs/[1]
Named after	Felicitas
Alternative designations	A869 TA; 1911 HA
Minor planet category	Main belt
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	146.39 yr (53470 d)
Aphelion	3.4971 AU (523.16 Gm)
Perihelion	1.89658 AU (283.724 Gm)
Semi-major axis	2.6968 AU (403.44 Gm)
Eccentricity	0.29674
Orbital period (sidereal)	4.43 yr (1617.6 d)
Average orbital speed	17.73 km/s
Mean anomaly	30.6904°
Mean motion	0° 13m 21.18s / day
Inclination	7.8813°
Longitude of ascending node	3.1617°
Argument of perihelion	56.392°
Earth MOID	0.920053 AU (137.6380 Gm)
Jupiter MOID	1.95452 AU (292.392 Gm)
TJupiter	3.291
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	89.44±2.5 km[2] 88.971 km[3]
Mass	7.5×1017 kg
Equatorial surface gravity	0.0250 m/s2
Equatorial escape velocity	0.0473 km/s
Synodic rotation period	13.191 h (0.5496 d)[2][4]
Geometric albedo	0.0699±0.004[2] 0.07 ± 0.02[3]
Temperature	~170 K
Spectral type	GC (Tholen)[3]
Absolute magnitude (H)	8.75,[2] 8.759[3]

This body is orbiting the Sun with a period of 4.43 years and an eccentricity (ovalness) of 0.3. Its orbital plane is inclined by 7.9° from the plane of the ecliptic. 109 Felicitas is classified as a carbonaceous GC-type asteroid. It is spinning with a rotation period of 13.2 hours. During 2002, 109 Felicitas was observed by radar from the Arecibo Observatory. The return signal matched an effective diameter of 89 ± 9 km. This is consistent with the asteroid dimensions computed through other means.^[4]