3908 Nyx

This article is about the Mars-crossing asteroid and is not to be confused with Nix, a moon of Pluto.

3908 Nyx is an Amor and Mars-crosser asteroid. It was discovered by Hans-Emil Schuster on August 6, 1980, and is named after Nyx, the Greek goddess of the night, after which Pluto's moon Nix is also named. It is 1–2 km in diameter and is a V-type asteroid, meaning that it may be a fragment of the asteroid 4 Vesta.

3908 Nyx

Discovery
Discovered by	Hans-Emil Schuster
Discovery date	6 August 1980
Designations
MPC designation	(3908) Nyx
Pronunciation	/ˈnɪks/"Nyx". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d.
Named after	Nyx
Alternative designations	1980 PA; 1988 XB1
Minor planet category	Amor; Mars-crosser
Adjectives	Nyctian
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 27 July 2005 (JD 2453578.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	13021 days (35.65 yr)
Aphelion	2.81198 AU (420.666 Gm)
Perihelion	1.04239 AU (155.939 Gm)
Semi-major axis	1.92719 AU (288.304 Gm)
Eccentricity	0.45911
Orbital period (sidereal)	2.68 yr (977.20 d)
Mean anomaly	99.7699°
Mean motion	0° 22m 6.236s / day
Inclination	2.17667°
Longitude of ascending node	261.688°
Argument of perihelion	125.978°
Earth MOID	0.0563399 AU (8.42833 Gm)
Physical characteristics
Mean radius	0.5 ± 0.075 km
Synodic rotation period	4.42601 h (0.184417 d)
Geometric albedo	0.23
Spectral type	V
Absolute magnitude (H)	17.3

Observations

In 2000, radar observations conducted at the Arecibo and Goldstone observatories produced a model of Nyx's shape; the asteroid can best be described as spherical but with many protruding lumps.

Name

To avoid confusion with 3908 Nyx, Pluto's moon Nix was changed from the initial proposal of the classical spelling Nyx, to Nix.^[2]

See also

• 3551 Verenia
• 4 Vesta
• 4055 Magellan
• HED meteorite
• V-type asteroid