Facts about Fortuna
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19 Fortuna's surface composition of carbonaceous material suggests the dwarf planet could contain water ice reserves that represent pristine samples of the early solar system's volatile-rich materials.
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Gravitational perturbations from Jupiter cause Fortuna's orbital eccentricity of 0.158, creating variations of approximately 80 million kilometers in its distance from the Sun throughout each 3.85-year orbit.
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Asteroid 19 Fortuna's relatively low density of approximately 1.6 grams per cubic centimeter suggests a loosely-packed rubble pile structure rather than a solid monolithic body.
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Approximately 230 kilometers across, asteroid 19 Fortuna rotates with a period of about 7.5 hours, completing roughly three full spins per Earth day.
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Fortuna's mean distance from the Sun of 2.55 astronomical units places it in the outer asteroid belt, where it experiences gravitational influences from both Mars and Jupiter.
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Fortuna's spectral classification as a C-type carbonaceous asteroid indicates its composition contains significant amounts of carbon and water ice, similar to primitive solar system material from 4.6 billion years ago.
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Fortuna's orbital period around the Sun takes approximately 3.85 years, placing it firmly within the asteroid belt's main population.
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In 1990, observations by the Hubble Space Telescope revealed that Fortuna has a relatively high albedo of 0.24, indicating its surface reflects about a quarter of sunlight that reaches it.
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Fortuna measures approximately 230 kilometers in diameter, making it the 19th largest asteroid in the main belt.
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The dwarf planet Fortuna, discovered in 1850 by English astronomer John Russell Hind, orbits between Mars and Jupiter in the asteroid belt.