Discovered by R. Luther Minor planet category Main belt Perihelion 345.074 Gm (2.307 AU) Orbits Sun Discoverer Robert Luther | Discovery date April 19, 1855 Aphelion 549.374 Gm (3.672 AU) Discovered 19 April 1855 Spectral type C-type asteroid Named after Leucothea | |
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Alternative names 1948 DC; 1950 RS1; 1976 WH Discovery site Düsseldorf-Bilk Observatory Similar Robert Luther discoveries, Other celestial objects | ||
35 Leukothea (/ljuːˈkɒθiə/ lew-KOTH-ee-ə, Greek: Λευκοθέα) is a large, dark asteroid from the asteroid belt It was discovered by German astronomer Karl Theodor Robert Luther on April 19, 1855, and named after Leukothea, a sea goddess in Greek mythology. 35 Leukothea is a C-type asteroid in the Tholen classification system.
Photometric observations of this asteroid from the Organ Mesa Observatory in Las Cruces, New Mexico during 2010 gave a light curve with a 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.
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.