209 Dido

Infobox Planet | discovery=yes | physical_characteristics = yes | bgcolour=#FFFFC0 | name=209 Dido
discoverer=C. H. F. Peters
discovered=October 22, 1879
alt_names=A909 AB, A909 GB,
A912 RB
mp_category=Main belt
epoch=30 January, 2005 (JD 2453400.5)
semimajor=470.89 Gm (3.148 AU)
perihelion=440.569 Gm (2.945 AU)
aphelion=501.211 Gm (3.35 AU)
eccentricity=0.064
period=2039.771 d (5.58 a)
inclination=7.181°
asc_node=0.844°
arg_peri=250.781°
mean_anomaly=287.741°
avg_speed=16.79 km/s
dimensions=160.0 km
mass="unknown"
density="unknown"
surface_grav="unknown"
escape_velocity="unknown"
rotation=8 h
spectral_type=C
abs_magnitude=8.24
albedo=0.035
single_temperature="unknown"

209 Dido is a very large main-belt asteroid. It is classified as a C-type asteroid and is probably composed of privitive carbonaceous materials. Like many asteroids of its type, it has an extremely low albedo.

It was discovered by C. H. F. Peters on October 22, 1879 in Clinton, New York and was named after the mythical Carthaginian queen Dido.

References

* [ftp://ftp.lowell.edu/pub/elgb/astorb.html The Asteroid Orbital Elements Database]
* [http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/lists/NumberedMPs.html Minor Planet Discovery Circumstances]
* [http://spiff.rit.edu/richmond/parallax/phot/LCSUMPUB.TXT Asteroid Lightcurve Data File]