This minor planet was named by the discoverer from Greek mythology after Achilles son Neoptolemus(see 2260 Neoptolemus) also known as Pyrrhus. His alternative name, Pyrrhus, origins from the red color of his hair. After his father's death, he was brought by Odysseus to the Trojan War, where he became the most ruthless of all the Greeks. He brutally killed King Priam and several other princes during the destruction of the city of Troy, and took away Hector's wife, Andromache, as his prize.[1] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 4 June 1993 (M.P.C. 22250).[10]
Physical characteristics
Pyrrhus is an assumed C-type asteroid, while most larger Jupiter trojans are D-type asteroids. It has a typical V–I color index of 0.95 (also see table).[9]
According to the surveys carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, The Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS, and the Japanese Akari satellite, Pyrrhus measures between 48.36 and 69.93 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.072 and 0.100.[5][6][7] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.0564 and a diameter of 64.26 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 9.7.[9]
100+ largest Jupiter trojans
Largest Jupiter Trojans by survey(A) (mean-diameter in kilometers; YoD: Year of Discovery)
Note: missing data was completed with figures from the JPL SBDB (query) and from the LCDB (query form) for the WISE/NEOWISE and SIMPS catalogs, respectively. These figures are given in italics. Also, listing is incomplete above #100.
^ abcdUsui, Fumihiko; Kuroda, Daisuke; Müller, Thomas G.; Hasegawa, Sunao; Ishiguro, Masateru; Ootsubo, Takafumi; et al. (October 2011). "Asteroid Catalog Using Akari: AKARI/IRC Mid-Infrared Asteroid Survey". Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan. 63 (5): 1117–1138. Bibcode:2011PASJ...63.1117U. doi:10.1093/pasj/63.5.1117. (online, AcuA catalog p. 153)