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Hebe

6 Hebe

Minor Planet Designation6 Hebe
Asteroid GroupMain Asteroid Belt
Orbital Period3 years, 285 days
Distance from the SunSemi-Major Axis: 362,704,925 km (2.42 AU)
Perihelion: 288,996,456 km (1.93 AU)
Aphelion: 436,413,393 km (2.92 AU)
Eccentricity0.2032
Diameter (Mean)185.2 kilometres

Hebe was the sixth object in the main Asteroid Belt to be discovered. It orbits near the inner edge of the Belt, following an elliptical path that brings it at times close to the orbit of Mars. Hebe is an unusually dense asteroid, with a surface thought to be formed in part from nickel and iron. There is evidence to suggest that Hebe is the source of numerous metallic meteorites - perhaps as many as 40% - impacting with the Earth. There are reports that Hebe has a moon, nicknamed 'Jebe' (and thus creating a 'Hebe-Jebe' system), though these reports remain unconfirmed.

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