Discovery date May 29, 1861 Aphelion 379.895 Gm (2.539 AU) Semi-major axis 339.027 Gm (2.266 AU) Inclination 5.417° Discovery site Litchfield Observatory | Minor planet category Main belt Perihelion 298.159 Gm (1.993 AU) Discovered 29 May 1861 Asteroid group Asteroid belt | |
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Discoverer Christian Heinrich Friedrich Peters Similar Christian Heinrich Friedrich Peters discoveries, Other celestial objects | ||
72 Feronia (/fəˈroʊniə/ fə-ROH-nee-ə) is a quite large and dark main belt asteroid. It was the first asteroid discovery by C. H. F. Peters, on May 29, 1861 from Hamilton College, New York State. It was initially thought that Peters had merely seen the already known asteroid 66 Maja, but T.H. Safford showed that it was a new body. Safford named it after Feronia, a Roman fertility goddess.
References
72 Feronia Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA