Tuesday 12 August 2014

(5) Astraea, fair trade

(5) Astraea is a main belt asteroid discovered in December of 1845. It was spotted without being identified in September of 1969.

The orbit is located in the mid zone of the main belt. It has a perihelion of 2.08 AU and an aphelion of 3.06 AU. The semimajor axis is at 2.57 AU. It has an orbital period of 4 years and 47 days. It has an inclination of
5.3º. Tiene un diámetro de unos 119 km.

Photometric observations were carried out in the years 2001, 2005, 2011 and 2012. A star occultation was produced in June of 2008.

Orbital resonance:
5:11 with Mars (99.8%)
-
10:9 with Ceres-Pallas (99.6%)
11:7 with Sylvia (99.9%)
20:13 with Cybele (99.9%)
15:11 with Davida (99.8%)
7:8 with Vesta (99.5%)
15:11 with Euphrosyne (99.5%)



Greek mythology

Astraea was the virgin goddess of justice and equity. It was represented by a surrounded bright halo, with wings and carrying the rays of Zeus in one hand and a torch in the other.

It was the last immortal that lived with human during the Golden Age; she ascended into heaven with the arrival of the Bronze Age, in which human lost their purity. 

(5) Astraea is related with fair trade, based on a correct valuation and in which there is a correct balance between what is given and what is received (11:7 resonance with Sylvia).