German astronomer discovers new minor planet

German astronomer Robert Luther discovered from his observatory in Dusseldorf a minor planet he called Mnesosyne, after the Greek goddess of memory.  Now termed a large main belt asteroid, it measures around 112 kilometers in diameter. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
The American Almanac and Repository of Useful Knowledge (Boston: Crosby, Nichols, Lee and Company, 1861), 403. 
    Date Certainty
    Exact
    Type
    Science/Technology
    How to Cite This Page: "German astronomer discovers new minor planet," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/index.php/node/28217.