File:68Leto_(Lightcurve_Inversion).png · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
In the Vinony graph
Within Vinony's link graph, 68 Leto is referenced by 15 other articles, and connects out to asteroid belt, orbital inclination and Sun.
It sits within the topics Astronomical objects discovered in 1861, Background asteroids and Discoveries by Robert Luther.
Its subject is documented across 45 Wikipedia language editions.
Picture of the Day · NASA
Pathfinder on Mars
2026-07-04
On July 4th, 1997, using its own array of fireworks, a parachute, and a cocoon of airbags, the Mars Pathfinder spacecraft bounced like a giant beach ball at least 15 times before it came to rest on the surface of Mars at 10:07 AM Pacific Daylight Time. After its then novel airbag-assisted landing sequence was completed, Pathfinder transmitted this color mosaic to mission operators on Earth. In the scene from another world, the Mars Sojourner robot rover is visible in the foreground, crouched on top of the unfolded Pathfinder. About the size of a large house cat, the six-wheeled, solar-powered Sojourner became the first successful Martian rover. Surrounding Pathfinder are deflated airbags and the rock-strewn terrain of the Ares Vallis floodplain. In the distance Martian hills appear against a dusty brownish sky. The Pathfinder lander was subsequently renamed the Carl Sagan Memorial Station.
via NASA APOD
Key facts
- Discovered by
- Karl Theodor Robert Luther
- Discovery date
- 29 April 1861
- Pronunciation
- / ˈ l ɛ t oʊ /
- Named after
- Λητώ Lētō
- Minor planet category
- Main belt
- Adjectives
- Letoian / l iː ˈ t oʊ . i ə n /
- Observation arc
- 152.08 yr (55548 d)
- Aphelion
- 3.30153 AU (493.902 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.26072 AU (338.199 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 2.78112 AU (416.050 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 4.64 yr (1,694.1 d)
- Mean anomaly
- 48.7204 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 12 45.025 / day
- Inclination
- 7.97189°
- Longitude of ascending node
- 44.1270°
- Argument of perihelion
- 304.826°
- Dimensions
- 122.57 ± 5.3 km , 124.96 ± 6.42 km
- Mass
- (3.28 ± 1.90) × 10 kg
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Named after
- Leto
- Followed by
- 69 Hesperia
- Follows
- 67 Asia
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- 122.509
- Orbital period
- 1695.557119746002
- Image
- 68Leto (Lightcurve Inversion).png
Show 20 more facts
- discoverer or inventor
- Robert Luther
- site of astronomical discovery
- Düsseldorf-Bilk Observatory
- time of discovery or invention
- 1861-04-29
- asteroid spectral type
- S-type asteroid
- orbital inclination
- 7.960518536605414
- albedo
- 0.228
- apparent magnitude
- 9.56
- Commons category
- 68 Leto
- provisional designation
- A861 HB
- absolute magnitude
- 6.9
- rotation period
- 14.848
- orbital eccentricity
- 0.1843409443466936
- semi-major axis of an orbit
- 2.782761579781019
- periapsis
- 2.26978468227249
- apoapsis
- 3.29573847728955
- longitude of ascending node
- 44.04862869710109
- argument of periapsis
- 304.894250361318
- mean anomaly
- 50.6592737002415
- time of periapsis
- 2460761.90085499
- epoch
- November 21, 2025
via Wikidata · CC0
~1 min read
Encyclopedic overview
68 Leto is a large main belt asteroid that is orbiting the Sun. The asteroid was discovered by German astronomer Robert Luther on April 29, 1861, and is named after Leto, the mother of Apollo and Artemis in Greek mythology. It orbits at a distance of 2.78112 AU over 4.64 years and has an orbital eccentricity of 0.187. The orbital plane is inclined at an angle of 7.97° to the ecliptic.
Photometric observations of 68 Leto during 1997 provided a rotation period of 14.856 ± 0.024 h. It has an estimated cross-sectional size of 123 km. The spectral type is S, suggesting a stony, silicate composition.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “68 Leto” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.