Asteroid 318 Magdalena, discovered on September 24th 1891 by Auguste Charlois, is a main belt asteroid of about 105 to 106 km diameter, of unknown composition. The reason the name was chosen remains officially a mystery, but Charlois was working in Nice, to where Mary Magdalene was said to have travelled, and he was born in Provence, which has a very strong connection with Mary M., so I’m using that as a good enough reason to include a painting.
| Aphelion | 3.461 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.927 AU |
| Orbital period | 5.71 years |
| orbital speed | 16.67 km/sec |
| Semi-major axis | 3.194 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.084 |
| Inclination | 10.641° |
| Longitude of ascending node | 161.671° |
| Argument of Perihelion | 300.312° |
(Epoch – Jan 20, 2005).
ALSO TODAY . . . .
1964 – Launch of Kosmos 46 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Kosmos 46 spent 8 days in orbit, taking in the view and photographing it, before returning a capsule of film by parachute.
It's All Going On Up There 