197 Arete is an asteroid

Asteroid

Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...

 in the asteroid belt

Asteroid belt

The asteroid belt is the region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. It is occupied by numerous irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets...

. It has a very bright surface, unusually bright even for a rocky S-type asteroid

S-type asteroid

S-type asteroids are of a stony composition, hence the name. Approximately 17% of asteroids are of this type, making it the second most common after the C-type.-Characteristics:...

.

It was discovered by J. Palisa

Johann Palisa

Johann Palisa was an Austrian astronomer, born in Opava in Austrian Silesia .He was a prolific discoverer of asteroids, discovering 122 in all, from 136 Austria in 1874 to 1073 Gellivara in 1923...

 on May 21, 1879, and named after Arete

Arete (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Queen Arete of Scheria was the wife of Alcinous and mother of Nausicaa and Laodamas. She welcomed Odysseus and treated him hospitably. Her name appears to be associated with the Ionic noun...

, the mother of Nausicaa

Nausicaa

Nausicaa is a character in Homer's Odyssey . She is the daughter of King Alcinous and Queen Arete of Phaeacia. Her name, in Greek, means "burner of ships".-Role in the Odyssey:...

 in Homer

Homer

In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...

's The Odyssey. Every 18 years, this asteroid approaches within 0.04 AU of 4 Vesta

4 Vesta

Vesta, formally designated 4 Vesta, is one of the largest asteroids, with a mean diameter of about . It was discovered by Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers on March 29, 1807, and is named after the Roman virgin goddess of home and hearth, Vesta....

. During these encounters, Vesta causes a gravitational perturbation of Arete, allowing the mass of Vesta to be directly determined.