Discovered by J. C. Watson Minor planet category Main belt Aphelion 3.2658 AU (488.56 Gm) Discovered 2 September 1877 Discovery site Detroit Observatory | Discovery date 2 September 1877 Observation arc 138.61 yr (50629 d) Perihelion 2.4572 AU (367.59 Gm) Asteroid group Asteroid belt | |
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Similar 188 Menippe, 132 Aethra, 161 Athor, 196 Philomela, 193 Ambrosia | ||
174 Phaedra is a sizable, rocky main belt asteroid that was discovered by Canadian-American astronomer James Craig Watson on September 2, 1877, and named after Phaedra, the tragic lovelorn queen in Greek mythology.
Lightcurve data obtained from Phaedra indicates a rather irregular or elongated body.
Photometric observations of this asteroid at the Shadowbox Observatory in Carmel, Indiana, during 2009 gave a light curve with a period of 4.96 ± 0.01 hours. This is consistent with previous studies in 1977, 1988, and 2008.
References
174 Phaedra Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA