Minor planets named from Hellenic mythology

In my Constellation Series, I talked about all constellations discussed by Hellenic astronomer Ptolemy. Ptolemy set out forty-eight constellations, based in Hellenic myth, of which some are still recognized to this day, and others got broken up or otherwise rearranged or added in the years that followed. As a addendum, I also made a post on the major planets and the stories from Hellenic mythology behind them. Then, yesterday, I posted about what minor planets are and how Hellenic mythology influenced the classification of them. I promised then that I would discuss some of my favorite Hellenic themed minor planets.

Did you know that there are 516 other planets named after people from Hellenic mythology known to us today? The ancient Hellenes weren't aware of these minor planets--they've been discovered with deep space telescopes and other technological advances far beyond those of the ancient Hellenes, but it's definitely worth a look through the list. Is your favorite hero or heroine there? Some of my favorites:


82 Alkmene - a main-belt asteroid named after Alkmene, the mother of Herakles. Alkmene is located in our Earth orbit.

36 Atalante - a large, dark main-belt asteroid named after the heroine Atalanta (of which Atalante is the French and German form). Atalante is located in Earth orbit.

172 Baucis - a large main belt asteroid named after a Baukis in the myth of Baukis and Philemon, which is my favorite Hellenic myth. Baucis is located in our Earth orbit.

1865 Cerberus - a stony asteroid named after Kerberos, the three-headed dog that guards the entrance to Hades, the Underworld. It's a near-Earth object of the Apollo asteroids group and makes close approaches to Mars and Venus.

1870 Glaukos - a Jupiter trojan from the Trojan camp, named after Glaukos, captain in the Lycian army during the Trojan War who was killed by Ajax, after whom the minor planet 1404 Ajax is named. Obviously located in Jupiter's orbit.

100 Hekate - a large main-belt asteroid named both after the Goddess Hekate and the Greek term "hekaton", meaning "hundred", as Hekate was the 100th asteroid in history to be discovered, on July 11, 1868. It orbits in the same region of space as the Hygiea asteroid family, and is listed as a member of the Hecuba group of asteroids that orbit near the 2:1 mean-motion resonance with Jupiter.

121 Hermione - a very large asteroid discovered named after Hermione, daughter of Menelaus and Helen. It orbits in the Cybele group in the far outer asteroid belt of Earth. In 2002, a small moon was found to be orbiting Hermione.

2759 Idomeneus - a Jupiter Trojan named after the Hellenic hero Idomeneus, who fought during the Trojan War. It's located in the "Greek Camp" of Trojan asteroids surrounding Jupiter.

431 Nephele - a large Themistian asteroid named after the cloud nymph of the same name Zeus created in the image of Hera to trick Ixion, king of the Lapiths, to test his integrity after displaying his lust for Hera during a feast as a guest of Zeus. Nephele is also the Goddess of hospitality. The Themistian asteroid family is found in the outer portion of the asteroid belt, between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

7066 Nessus - a centaur named after the famous centaur who was killed by Herakles, and whose tainted blood in turn killed Herakles. During its orbital period of 122.4 years, it moves between the Sun and Uranus and out well beyond the orbit of Neptune.

3200 Phaethon - an Apollo asteroid with an unusual orbit that brings it closer to the Sun than any other named asteroid. For this reason, it was named after the Phaëton, son of the sun god Helios, who stole his father's chariot and burned up everything in his path before Zeus struck him down with a thunderbolt.

55701 Ukalegon - a Jupiter Trojan named after Ukalegon, one of the Elders of Troy, whose house was set on fire by the Achaeans when they sacked the city.