Dactyl

E385071

Dactyl is a small natural satellite orbiting the asteroid 243 Ida, notable as the first confirmed moon of an asteroid ever discovered.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Dactyl canonical 3

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (46)

Predicate Object
instanceOf asteroid moon
natural satellite
albedo 0.2
alternativeName Ida I
belongsToDynamicalClass Ida family
belongsToSystem 243 Ida–Dactyl system
designation (243) Ida I Dactyl
linked to: 243 Ida
dimension_km 1.6 × 1.4 × 1.2
discoveredBy Galileo mission
linked to: Galileo spacecraft

Galileo spacecraft
discoveredInContextOf Galileo flyby of 243 Ida
linked to: Galileo spacecraft
discoveryDate 1993-02-17
discoveryMethod spacecraft imaging
discoveryStatus confirmed
distanceFromIdaRange_km 85–115
firstOf first confirmed moon of an asteroid
hasCraters yes
hasEstimatedMass_kg ~5×10^12
hasLowGravity true
hasMeanRadius_km 0.7
hasNoAtmosphere true
hasRegolith yes
hasShape irregular
imageCapturedBy Galileo imaging system
linked to: Galileo SSI camera
isAsynchronousWithIdaRotation likely
isGravitationallyBoundTo 243 Ida
linked to: (243) Ida
isNaturalSatelliteOf 243 Ida
isUniqueAsOfDiscovery first known satellite of an asteroid
locatedIn main asteroid belt
meanDiameter_km 1.4
namedAfter dactyl (mythological being)
linked to: Dactyls
namedBy International Astronomical Union
observedBy Galileo spacecraft
orbitalEccentricity 0.2
orbitalInclination_deg 9
orbitalPeriod_hours 20.7
orbits 243 Ida
linked to: (243) Ida

asteroid 243 Ida
linked to: 243 Ida
parentBody 243 Ida
rotationPeriod_hours about 20
semiMajorAxis_km 90
spectralType S-type
surfaceComposition silicate rock
surfaceFeatures boulders
impact craters
ridges

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Ida hasSatellite Dactyl
Ida satelliteDiscovery Dactyl