Discovered by J. Chacornac Alternative names A904 SF; 1949 QO2 Aphelion 472.587 Gm (3.159 AU) Discovered 12 January 1856 Spectral type C-type asteroid Named after Leda | Discovery date January 12, 1856 Minor planet category Main belt Perihelion 348.232 Gm (2.328 AU) Orbits Sun Discoverer Jean Chacornac Discovery site Paris Observatory | |
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Similar Jean Chacornac discoveries, Other celestial objects | ||
38 Leda /ˈliːdə/ is a large, dark main-belt asteroid that was discovered by French astronomer J. Chacornac on January 12, 1856, and named after Leda, the mother of Helen of Troy in Greek mythology. In the Tholen classification system, it is categorized as a carbonaceous C-type asteroid, while the Bus asteroid taxonomy system lists it as a Cgh asteroid.
Leda has been studied by radar. During 2002, 38 Leda was observed by radar from the Arecibo Observatory. The return signal matched an effective diameter of 116 ± 13 km. This is consistent with the asteroid dimensions computed through other means. Based upon a light curve that was generated from photometric observations of this asteroid at Pulkovo Observatory, it has a rotation period of 12.834 ± 0.001 hours and varies in brightness by 0.15 ± 0.01 in magnitude.