Discovery | |
---|---|
Discovered by | R. Luther |
Discovery date | April 19, 1855 |
Designations | |
Designation | (35) Leukothea |
Pronunciation | /ljuːˈkɒθiə/ [1] |
Named after | Λευκοθέα Leykothea |
1948 DC; 1950 RS1; 1976 WH | |
Main belt | |
Adjectives | Leukothean /ljuːˈkɒθiən/ |
Symbol | (historical) |
Orbital characteristics [2] | |
Epoch December 31, 2006 (JD 2454100.5) | |
Aphelion | 549.374 Gm (3.672 AU) |
Perihelion | 345.074 Gm (2.307 AU) |
447.224 Gm (2.990 AU) | |
Eccentricity | 0.228 |
1,887.983 d (5.17 a) | |
Average orbital speed | 17.00 km/s |
77.469° | |
Inclination | 7.938° |
353.817° | |
213.962° | |
Physical characteristics | |
103.05 ± 1.2 km [3] | |
Mass | (1.014 ± 0.491/0.321)×1018 kg [3] |
Mean density | 1.769 ± 0.857/0.56 g/cm3 [3] |
~0.0513 km/s | |
31.900 [4] h | |
Albedo | 0.066 [5] |
Temperature | ~162 K |
Spectral type | C |
8.5 | |
35 Leukothea is a large, dark asteroid from the asteroid belt. It was discovered by German astronomer Karl Theodor Robert Luther on April 19, 1855, [6] and named after Leukothea, a sea goddess in Greek mythology. Its historical symbol was a pharos (ancient lighthouse); it is in the pipeline for Unicode 17.0 as U+1CED0 ( ). [7] [8]
Leukothea is a C-type asteroid in the Tholen classification system, [2] suggesting a carbonaceous composition. It is orbiting the Sun with a period of 5.17 years and has a cross-sectional size of 103.1 km.
Photometric observations of this asteroid from the Organ Mesa Observatory in Las Cruces, New Mexico during 2010 gave a light curve with a rotation period of 31.900±0.001 hours and a brightness variability of 0.42±0.04 in magnitude. This is consistent with previous studies in 1990 and 2008. [4]
The computed Lyapunov time for this asteroid is 20,000 years, indicating that it occupies a chaotic orbit that will change randomly over time because of gravitational perturbations of the planets. [9]
5 Astraea is an asteroid in the asteroid belt. This object is orbiting the Sun at a distance of 385 million kilometres (2.5735 AU) with a period of 4.13 yr and an orbital eccentricity of 0.19. The orbital plane is inclined at an angle of 5.37° to the plane of the ecliptic. It is spinning with a period of 16.8 h. The surface of Astraea is highly reflective and its composition is probably a mixture of nickel–iron with silicates of magnesium and iron. It is an S-type asteroid in the Tholen classification system.
7 Iris is a large main-belt asteroid and possible remnant planetesimal orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter. It is the fourth-brightest object in the asteroid belt. 7 Iris is classified as an S-type asteroid, meaning that it has a stony composition.
8 Flora is a large, bright main-belt asteroid. It is the innermost large asteroid: no asteroid closer to the Sun has a diameter above 25 kilometres, and not until 20-km 149 Medusa was discovered was an asteroid known to orbit at a closer mean distance. It is the seventh-brightest asteroid with a mean opposition magnitude of +8.7. Flora can reach a magnitude of +8.1 at a favorable opposition near perihelion, such as occurred in November 2020 when it was 0.88 AU from Earth.
9 Metis is one of the larger main-belt asteroids. It is composed of silicates and metallic nickel-iron, and may be the core remnant of a large asteroid that was destroyed by an ancient collision. Metis is estimated to contain just under half a percent of the total mass of the asteroid belt.
11 Parthenope is a large, bright main-belt asteroid.
12 Victoria is a large main-belt asteroid, orbiting the Sun with a period of 3.56 years and an eccentricity of 0.221. It is a stony (S-type) asteroid, about 112–124 km across with an albedo of 0.18 and a rotation period of 8.66 hours. Victoria has been observed to occult a star three times since its discovery. Radar and speckle interferometry observations show that the shape of Victoria is elongated, and it is suspected to be a binary asteroid, with a moon of irregular shape.
13 Egeria is a large main-belt G-type asteroid. It was discovered by Annibale de Gasparis on November 2, 1850. Egeria was named by Urbain Le Verrier, whose computations led to the discovery of Neptune, after the mythological nymph Egeria of Aricia, Italy, the wife of Numa Pompilius, second king of Rome.
14 Irene is a large main-belt asteroid, discovered by the English astronomer John Russell Hind on May 19, 1851. It is orbiting the Sun at a distance of 2.585 AU with a period of 4.16 yr and an eccentricity of 0.168. The orbital plane is tilted at an angle of 9.1° to the plane of the ecliptic.
17 Thetis is a stony asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 90 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 17 April 1852, by German astronomer Robert Luther at Bilk Observatory in Düsseldorf, Germany who deferred to Friedrich Wilhelm August Argelander the naming his first asteroid discovery after Thetis from Greek mythology. Its historical symbol was a dolphin and a star; it is in the pipeline for Unicode 17.0 as U+1CECA .
18 Melpomene is a large, bright main-belt asteroid that was discovered by J. R. Hind on 24 June 1852, and named after Melpomenē, the Muse of tragedy in Greek mythology. Its historical symbol was a dagger over a star; it is in the pipeline for Unicode 17.0 as U+1CECB .
20 Massalia is a stony asteroid and the parent body of the Massalia family located in the inner region of the asteroid belt, approximately 145 kilometers in diameter. Discovered by Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis on 19 September 1852, it was named for the Latin name of the French city of Marseille, from which the independent discover Jean Chacornac sighted it the following night. It was the first asteroid that was not assigned an iconic symbol by its discoverer.
26 Proserpina is a main-belt asteroid discovered by German astronomer R. Luther on May 5, 1853. It is named after the Roman goddess Proserpina, the daughter of Ceres and the Queen of the Underworld. Another main-belt asteroid, 399 Persephone, discovered in 1895, is named after her Greek counterpart. Its historical symbol was a star inside a pomegranate; it is in the pipeline for Unicode 17.0 as U+1CECD .
28 Bellona is a large main-belt asteroid. It was discovered by German astronomer R. Luther on March 1, 1854, and named after Bellōna, the Roman goddess of war; the name was chosen to mark the beginning of the Crimean War. Its historical symbol was Bellona's whip and spear; it is in the pipeline for Unicode 17.0 as U+1CECE .
29 Amphitrite is one of the largest S-type asteroids, approximately 200 kilometers in diameter, and probably fifth largest after Eunomia, Juno, Iris and Herculina.
37 Fides is a large main-belt asteroid. It was discovered by German astronomer Karl Theodor Robert Luther on October 5, 1855, and named after Fides, the Roman goddess of loyalty. Fides was the last of the main-belt asteroids to be assigned an iconic symbol, a Latin cross U+271D ✝. 37 Fides is also a S-type asteroid in the Tholen classification system.
53 Kalypso is a large and very dark main belt asteroid that was discovered by German astronomer Robert Luther on April 4, 1858, at Düsseldorf. It is named after Calypso, a sea nymph in Greek mythology, a name it shares with Calypso, a moon of Saturn.
137 Meliboea is a large, dark main-belt asteroid that was discovered by Austrian astronomer J. Palisa at the Austrian Naval Observatory on 21 April 1874, the second of his many asteroid discoveries. It was later named after Meliboea, the daughter of Oceanus and Tethys in Greek mythology. The largest body in the Meliboea family of asteroids that share similar orbital elements, only 791 Ani approaches its size. It is classified as a C-type asteroid and may be composed of carbonaceous materials. The spectra of the asteroid displays evidence of aqueous alteration.
262 Valda is a main belt asteroid that was discovered by Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa on 3 November 1886 in Vienna. The name was proposed by Bettina von Rothschild.
264 Libussa is a Main belt asteroid that was discovered by C. H. F. Peters on December 22, 1886, in Clinton, New York and was named after Libussa, the legendary founder of Prague. It is classified as an S-type asteroid.
728 Leonisis is an asteroid of the Flora family, discovered by Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa on 16 February 1912 from Vienna.