Discovered by H. Goldschmidt Alternative names A917 SM; 1953 RL1 Aphelion 520.969 Gm (3.482 AU) Discovered 9 September 1860 Named after Danaë | Discovery date September 9, 1860 Minor planet category Main belt Perihelion 371.280 Gm (2.482 AU) | |
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Similar Hermann Goldschmidt discoveries, Other celestial objects | ||
61 Danaë (/ˈdænəjiː/ DAN-ə-yee or /dəˈneɪ.ə/ də-NAY-ə) is a moderately large, rocky main belt asteroid. It was discovered by Hermann Goldschmidt on September 9, 1860 from his balcony in Paris.
Goldschmidt was ill when asked to name the asteroid, and requested his fellow asteroid-hunter Robert Luther to name it instead. Luther chose to name it after Danaë, the mother of Perseus in Greek mythology. Danaë was the first asteroid to have a diacritical character in its official name.
In 1985, a study of lightcurve data suggested that Danaë may have a moon. If so, the main body would be an ellipsoid measuring 85×80×75 km (52x49x46 mi), and the moon would orbit 101 kilometres (63 mi) away, measuring 55×30×30 km (34x18x18 mi). The density of both would be 1.1 g/cm³.[3]