What is 617 Patroclus?
Q: What is 617 Patroclus?
A: 617 Patroclus is a binary minor planet made up of two similarly-sized objects orbiting their common centre of gravity.
Q: What is the pronunciation of Patroclus?
A: The pronunciation of Patroclus is pə-troe'-kləs or /pəˈtroʊkləs/.
Q: What is the orbit of 617 Patroclus?
A: 617 Patroclus is a Trojan, sharing an orbit with Jupiter.
Q: Who discovered 617 Patroclus?
A: 617 Patroclus was found in 1907 by August Kopff.
Q: Is 617 Patroclus a rocky asteroid or an icy comet?
A: Recent evidence suggests that the objects that make up 617 Patroclus are icy comets, rather than rocky asteroids.
Q: What does it mean for the objects to be binary?
A: Binary means that there are two objects that are similar in size orbiting a common center of gravity.
Q: How does 617 Patroclus compare to other Trojan asteroids?
A: 617 Patroclus was the second Trojan asteroid to be found.
