Pallas
Symbol: 
Astronomy
| Parameter | Size |
|---|---|
| Name | Pallas |
| Semi-major axis | 2.77160611 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.13060671 AU |
| Aphelion | 3.412605509 AU |
| Inclination | 34.840998° |
| Orbital period | 4.614296176 years |
| Rotation period | 7.8132214 hours[2] |
| Diameter | 512±3 km |
| Density | 3.0 ± 0.5 g/ cm³ |
| Albedo | 0.159 |
| Eccentricity | 0.23127363 |
2 Pallas is an asteroid, which orbits the Sun between Mars and Jupiter. It is the second asteroid to have been discovered (after Ceres), and the third largest planetary body in the asteroid belt. With an estimated 7% of the mass of the asteroid belt, it is also the third-most-massive asteroid, being 10–30% less massive than Vesta. It is 512 kilometers (318 mi) in diameter, somewhat smaller than Vesta. It is likely a remnant protoplanet, too.[3]
Both Vesta and Pallas have assumed the title of second-largest asteroid from time to time. Pallas is slightly smaller than Vesta. The mass of Pallas is only 84% that of Vesta.[4]
It has an average distance to the Sun of 414.5 million km, which is farther from Earth than Vesta. It has a much lower albedo than Vesta, and was discovered on 28th March 1802, also by H.W. Olbers[5], in Berlin.
Pallas's surface is most likely composed of a silicate material.
It has an orbital inclination of 34.8°, so its orbit is unusually highly inclined to the plane of both the asteroid belt and the ecliptic, and its orbital eccentricity is nearly as large as that of Pluto.
The chemical element Palladium was named after the asteroid, which had been discovered just before the element.
Resonances: Pallas is in a, likely coincidental, near-1:1 orbital resonance with Ceres. It also has a near-18:7 resonance (91,000-year period) and an approximate 5:2 resonance (83-year period) with Jupiter.
Mythology
The asteroid was named after the Greek goddess Pallas Athene (Athena, Latin Minerva). She was unusual as a feminine figure, which was already evident at her birth: Zeus (Jupiter) impregnated her mother the wise titan Metis. At the same time it was prophesied that Metis would give birth to another child more powerful than Zeus. In order to prevent this Zeus devoured her. However, Zeus was not able to digest the child which then grew in his head causing unbearable headaches. In order to relieve Zeus from his suffering, the divine blacksmith Hephaistus split his head with an axe and Pallas Athene emerged fully clothed in armour. She became the goddess of war, wisdom and the arts and was Zeus' great pride. She was an outstanding strategist - unlike the war god Ares who was simply a ferocious fighter. Pallas was accompanied by an owl, the symbol of wisdom.
Pallas Athene remained a virgin and lived asexually. Nevertheless, she prefered the company of men. She protected courageous heroes and promoted their military expeditions. She was also relentless in pursuit of her enemies. She avoided women and remained uninterested in the fate of her own mother.
In some mythologies Athena involuntarily killed her good friend Pallas, then adopted her name out of mourning.
Other myths about Pallas Athene portray her as a skilled weaver and as the patron of crafts people. The Greek myth about the origin of spiders, for example, has a woman named Arachne challenging the goddess to a weaving contest, and being punished for her blasphemy against the gods when the goddess changes her into a spider.
Interpretation
German astrologer Beate Metz describes Pallas as representing "the expression of our own ideas to the cost of our own femininity", together with "animosity among women".[6] The difficulties with femininity that Pallas embodies do not only apply to women, but also to the feminine side of men. The individual who feels able to open themselves to the symbolism of Pallas can recognise the aspects in their lives where they find it difficult to admit to their feminine side. At the same time, Pallas represents the challenge of recognising the relationship between the feminine aspects of our being and courage, success, and intelligence - qualities which the patriarchal world-view has generally associated with the masculine archetype.
American astrologer Demetra George takes a more positive view, and interprets Pallas as indicating creative intelligence, the healing arts, crafts, and protecting the state or human rights. Negatively, however, Pallas can indicate problems in these areas (such as learning disabilities), or over-identification with the masculine, one's animus and one's father-image. George points out that in ancient times, the Greeks identified creative intelligence as a masculine trait, and that women's educational opportunities were limited. Today, in contrast, women need not divorce their intelligence from their femininity.
Pallas appears to be related to the zodiac signs of Virgo (handicrafts), Libra (justice) and Aquarius (social conscience).
Weblinks
- The asteroids in astrology (Episode 242 öf Chris Brennan's Astrology Podcast with Demetra George, 2020)
- Wikipedia: 2 Pallas
- Wikipedia: Pallas (daughter of Triton) (short mythology)
- Wikipedia: Palladium (mythology)
- Pallas (Theoi.com)
Bibliography
- Demetra George, 1986, Asteroid Goddesses: The Mythology, Psychology and Astrology of the Reemerging Feminine, ACS Publications, Inc.
- Bloch, Douglas & George, Demetra, Asteroid Goddesses: The Mythology, Psychology, and Astrology of the Re-emerging Feminine, Ibis Press, Lake Worth, FL, 2003.
Notes and References
- ↑ With the help from Hephaistos. Alchemical illustration. Michael Meier, 1618
- ↑ Pallas's rotation appears to be prograde, though it has a very high axial tilt of 84°. This means that every Palladian summer and winter, large parts of the surface are in constant sunlight or constant darkness, with areas near the poles experiencing continuous sunlight for as long as two years
- ↑ Pallas is thought to have undergone at least some degree of thermal alteration and partial differentiation. During the planetary formation stage of the Solar System, objects grew in size through an accretion process to approximately this size. Many of these objects were incorporated into larger bodies, which became the planets, whereas others were destroyed in collisions with other protoplanets. Pallas and Vesta are likely survivors from this early stage of planetary formation
- ↑ Which is about 0.3% that of our Moon
- ↑ Five years later, in 1807 Olbers dicovered Vesta
- ↑ Beate Metz, Feb., 1997,: Die Asteroiden, in: Meridian vol. 27
- ↑ Sixth century BC Greek amphora