Cybele group

Minor planets in the outer main belt Cybele group.

A common nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos), detail of close-up photo from 2019.
Asteroids, Cybele group, Focus On, Libra discovery, Main belt objects, Outer main belt objects

Focus On: (713) Luscinia

Name origin: The genus Luscinia, which contains the common nightingale and three other living species. These are migratory birds originating from Europe and Asia, occurring at various latitudes but more prevalent in temperate regions. The common nightingale is renowned for its powerful and beautiful song.

Focus On: (713) Luscinia Read Post »

"The Conversion of Holy Hubertus", Wilhelm Räuber (1849-1926), from Eduard Engels' Hausbuch deutscher Kunst (1913).
Asteroids, Cybele group, Focus On, Main belt objects, Outer main belt objects, Pisces discovery

Focus On: (260) Huberta

St. Hubertus or Hubert (c.656-727), a kind of pre-Francis who established ethical rules on hunting, and cared about the welfare of animals. Hubert is venerated every year by the hunts in formal ceremonies. He is patron of archers; dogs; forest workers; trappers; hunting and huntsmen; mathematicians; metal workers; smelters and the city of Liège.

Focus On: (260) Huberta Read Post »

Filippino Lippi (1457-1504): Five Sibyls Seated in Niches: the Samian, Cumean, Hellespontic, Phrygian and Tiburtine, c. 1465-1470.
Aries discovery, Asteroids, Cybele group, Focus On, Main belt objects, Outer main belt objects

Focus On: (168) Sibylla

Named after the Sibyls, oracles in ancient Greece. Originally there may have been just one Sibyl at a time, but the number eventually increased to nine or ten. Bases included Delphi, Samos, Delos and Clarus. The etymology of the term’s source is unknown.

Focus On: (168) Sibylla Read Post »

Detail from statue of Rhea Silvia by Jacopo della Quercia.
Cybele group, Focus On, Main belt objects, Outer main belt objects, Sagittarius discovery

Focus On: (87) Sylvia

Rhea Silvia was forced to become a Vestal Virgin by her uncle Amulius to prevent her conceiving, but Mars had other ideas. Their sons were sent to die but rescued and suckled by a she-wolf, and eventually grew up to overthrow Amulius and reinstate their grandfather Numitor as king, before moving on to found Rome.

Focus On: (87) Sylvia Read Post »

Detail of Heimdall returns Brísingamen to Freyja (1846), oil painting by Nils Blommér.
Aries discovery, Asteroids, Cybele group, Focus On, Main belt objects, Outer main belt objects

Focus On: (76) Freia

Freyja is a Norse goddess associated with love, sex, beauty, fertility, gold, seiðr, war, and death. Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a chariot pulled by two cats, is accompanied by the boar Hildisvíni, and possesses a cloak of falcon feathers. She is a member of the Vanir.

Focus On: (76) Freia Read Post »

Scroll to Top