| |||||||||
| Orbital characteristics [ftp://ftp.lowell.edu/pub/elgb/astorb.html 1] | |
|---|---|
| Orbit type | Main belt |
| Semimajor axis | 3.129 AU |
| Perihelion distance | 2.713 AU |
| Aphelion distance | 3.544 AU |
| Orbital period | 5.53 years |
| Inclination | 0.76° |
| Eccentricity | 0.133 |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Diameter | 228 km |
| Mass | 7.2 × 1015 kg |
| Rotation period | 8 h 23 min |
| Abs. magnitude [ftp://ftp.lowell.edu/pub/elgb/astorb.html 1] | 7.08 |
| Spectral class | C |
| Albedo | 0.03 |
| History | |
| Discoverer | A. de Gasparis, 1853 |
24 Themis ("THEE miss") is one of the largest Main belt asteroids. It is also the largest member of Themis asteroid family.
It was discovered by A. de Gasparis on April 5, 1853.
It is named after Themis, the personification of divine order, law and custom in Greek mythology.
Themis was also the name given to the spurious lost "tenth" satellite of Saturn that William Henry Pickering believed he had found in 1905.