39 Laetitia
Encyclopedia
39 Laetitia is a large, bright main-belt asteroid
.
Laetitia was discovered by J. Chacornac
on February 8, 1856, and named after Laetitia
, a minor Roman
goddess of gaiety.
Observations of an occultation
on March 21, 1998, produced several chords
indicating an ellipsoid of 219×142 km.
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...
.
Laetitia was discovered by J. Chacornac
Jean Chacornac
Jean Chacornac was a French astronomer.He was born in Lyon and died in St Jean en Royans. Working in Marseille and Paris, he discovered six asteroids. The asteroid 1622 Chacornac and the crater Chacornac on the Moon are named in his honour....
on February 8, 1856, and named after Laetitia
Laetitia
Laetitia was a minor Roman goddess of gaiety, her name deriving from the root word laeta, meaning happyLaetitia may refer to:- People :Laetitia is a girls' name that is quite popular in the south of France and is also used in Québec...
, a minor Roman
Roman mythology
Roman mythology is the body of traditional stories pertaining to ancient Rome's legendary origins and religious system, as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans...
goddess of gaiety.
Observations of an occultation
Occultation
An occultation is an event that occurs when one object is hidden by another object that passes between it and the observer. The word is used in astronomy . It can also refer to any situation wherein an object in the foreground blocks from view an object in the background...
on March 21, 1998, produced several chords
Chord (astronomy)
In the field of astronomy the term chord typically refers to a line crossing an object which is formed during an occultation event. By taking accurate measurements of the start and end times of the event, in conjunction with the known location of the observer and the object's orbit, the length of...
indicating an ellipsoid of 219×142 km.
External links
- Orbital simulation from JPL (Java) / Ephemeris