# 62 Erato

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**62 Erato** (/ˈɛrətoʊ/) is a [carbonaceous](/source/Carbon) asteroid from the outer region of the [asteroid belt](/source/Asteroid_belt), approximately 95 kilometers (59 miles) in diameter. It is a member of the [Themis family](/source/Themis_family) of asteroids that share similar properties and orbital characteristics. [Photometric](/source/Photometry_(astronomy)) measurements during 2004–2005 showed a rotation period of 9.2213 ± 0.0007 hours with an [amplitude](/source/Amplitude) of 0.116 ± 0.005 in magnitude.[5] It is orbiting the [Sun](/source/Sun) with a [period](/source/Orbital_period) of 2,015.178 days, a [semimajor axis](/source/Semimajor_axis) of 3.122 AU, and [eccentricity](/source/Orbital_eccentricity) of 0.178. The [orbital plane](/source/Orbital_plane) is inclined by an angle of 2.22° to the [plane of the ecliptic](/source/Plane_of_the_ecliptic).

Erato is the first asteroid to have been credited with co-discoverers, [Oskar Lesser](/source/Oskar_Lesser) and [Wilhelm Forster](/source/Wilhelm_Julius_Foerster), who discovered it on 14 September 1860, from the [Berlin Observatory](/source/Berlin_Observatory). It was their first and only asteroid discovery. The name was chosen by [Johann Franz Encke](/source/Johann_Franz_Encke), director of the observatory, and refers to [Erato](/source/Erato), the [Muse](/source/Muse) of [lyric poetry](/source/Lyric_poetry) in [Greek mythology](/source/Greek_mythology).[7] It has also been classified as a member of the [Eos family](/source/Eos_family).[4]

## References

1. Noah Webster (1884). *A Practical Dictionary of the English Language*.

1. ["Asteroid 62 Erato"](https://sbntools.psi.edu/ferret/SimpleSearch/results.action?targetName=62+Erato). *Small Bodies Data Ferret*. Retrieved 24 October 2019.

1. Krasinsky, G. A.; Pitjeva, E. V.; Vasilyev, M. V.; Yagudina, E. I. (July 2002). ["Hidden Mass in the Asteroid Belt"](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2002Icar..158...98K). *Icarus*. **158** (1): 98–105. [Bibcode:2002Icar..158...98K](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2002Icar..158...98K). [doi:10.1006/icar.2002.6837](https://doi.org/10.1006/icar.2002.6837)

1. Alvarez-Candal, Alvaro et al. (December 2004), "Rotational lightcurves of asteroids belonging to families", *Icarus*. **172** (2): 388–401, [Bibcode:2004Icar..172..388A](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2004Icar..172..388A). [doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2004.06.008](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2004.06.008)

1. Gonçalves, Rui M. D. & Behrend, Raoul (March 2006), "Lightcurve of 62 Erato", *Bulletin of the Minor Planets Section of the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers*. **33** (1): 7, [Bibcode:2006MPBu...33....7G](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2006MPBu...33....7G)

1. ["Asteroid Data Sets"](https://web.archive.org/web/20091217104722/http://www.psi.edu/pds/resource/albedo.html). *Planetary Data System Asteroid/Dust Archive*. NASA. Archived from [the original](http://www.psi.edu/pds/resource/albedo.html) on 17 December 2009. Retrieved 13 January 2007.

1. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). [*Dictionary of Minor Planet Names*](https://books.google.com/books?id=KWrB1jPCa8AC&pg=PA21). Springer. p. 21. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.

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