37 Fides () is a large
main-belt asteroid
An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...
. It was discovered by German astronomer
Karl Theodor Robert Luther
Karl Theodor Robert Luther (16 April 1822, Świdnica – 15 February 1900 Düsseldorf), normally published as Robert Luther, was a German astronomer. While working at the Bilk Observatory in Düsseldorf, Germany, he searched for asteroids and di ...
on October 5, 1855,
and named after
Fides, the
Roman goddess of
loyalty
Loyalty is a Fixation (psychology), devotion to a country, philosophy, group, or person. Philosophers disagree on what can be an object of loyalty, as some argue that loyalty is strictly interpersonal and only another human being can be the obj ...
. Fides was the last of the main-belt asteroids to be assigned an
iconic symbol,
a
Latin cross U+271D ✝ ().
37 Fides is also a S-type asteroid in the
Tholen classification system.
observations of this asteroid at multiple observatories during 1981–82 gave an unusual
light curve
In astronomy, a light curve is a graph (discrete mathematics), graph of the Radiance, light intensity of a celestial object or region as a function of time, typically with the magnitude (astronomy), magnitude of light received on the ''y''-axis ...
with three minima and maxima. The curve changed with varying
phase angle of the asteroid relative to the viewer and the position of the Sun, indicating the changing influence of shadows cast by surface features. The composite light curve has a best fit period estimate of 7.33 hours.
Austrian astronomer Hans Josef Schober has suggested that the multiple minima and maxima during each period may be an indication of a binary nature.
Notes
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:000037
Background asteroids
Fides
Fides
S-type asteroids (Tholen)
S-type asteroids (SMASS)
18551005
vec:Lista de asteroidi#37 Fides