134 Sophrosyne


Sophrosyne is a large main-belt asteroid that was discovered by German astronomer Robert Luther on September 27, 1873, and was named after the concept of sophrosyne, Plato's term for 'moderation'. Classified as a C-type asteroid, it has an exceedingly dark surface and most probably a primitive carbonaceous composition.
An occultation of a star by 134 Sophrosyne was observed November 24, 1980, in the United States. Timing information from this event allowed a diameter estimate of 110 km to be derived. Photometric observations of the asteroid in 2015 produced a lightcurve indicating a rotation period of with a variation amplitude of in magnitude. This provided a good match to the only previous determination in 1989.