504 Cora
504 Cora, provisional designation, is a metallic asteroid from the middle region of the asteroid belt, approximately 30 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by American astronomer Solon Bailey at Harvard's Boyden Station in Arequipa, Peru, on 30 June 1902. It was later named after Cora, a figure in Inca mythology.
Classification and orbit
Cora orbits the Sun in the middle main-belt at a distance of 2.1–3.3 AU once every 4 years and 6 months. Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.22 and an inclination of 13° with respect to the ecliptic. The body's observation arc begins 4 years after its discovery with the first used observation made at Heidelberg in 1906.Physical characteristics
Spectral type
On the Tholen taxonomic scheme, as well as by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Cora is classified as a metallic M-type asteroid.Mineralogic observations in the near-infrared with the NASA IRTF telescope using its NASA [Infrared Telescope Facility#SpeX|SpeX] spectrograph, showed that its surface is that of an X-type asteroid, with absorption features indicating the presence of pyroxene minerals. In 2004, the body's spectrum was also obtained in the SMASSII survey at the U.S. MDM Observatory, Kitt Peak, Arizona.