(42585) Pheidippides Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 30 March 1997 by V. S. Casulli at Colleverde.
Pheidippides (fl. 490 B.C.E.) was a legendary Athenian herald who ran 240 km between the battlefield at Marathon to Athens in two days to report the Greek victory over the Persians. The modern marathon takes its name from this legend.Naming citation (MPC batch dated 2017-03-12), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Pheidippides is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Pheidippides is 2.88 au from the Sun and 2.61 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 42585 |
| Provisional designation | 1997 FJ1 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 3.08 km (#15,021 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.187 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 15.02 |
| Orbital period | 4.40 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.69 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.48 – 2.89 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0773 |
| Inclination | 12.3° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.49 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.