Basics
Class: M-type asteroid
Location: Main belt
Orbit length (approx): 4.85 years
Discovered: 5th February 1873 (time unknown), at Litchfield Observatory, Clinton, NY, by Christian Heinrich Friedrich Peters
Notes: Antigone is composed of almost pure nickel-iron. Along with similar asteroids, it may originate from the core of a shattered Vesta-like planetesimal.
Events at time of discovery:
- January 20 – Birth of Johannes V. Jensen, Danish writer, Nobel Prize laureate
- January 28 – Birth of Colette, French writer
- January 31 – Birth of Melitta Bentz, German entrepreneur who invented the coffee filter
- February 2 – Birth of Maurice Tourneur, French film director
Naming information
Name origin: A Theban princess in Greek tales; daughter of Oedipus.
Mythology: In Sophocles’ play named after her, Antigone rebels against her uncle King Creon’s directive not to allow her brother Polynices a proper burial, and is ordered to be executed as a consequence. Creon relents, but by the time she is recovered Antigone has died by suicide.
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| Antigone approaching the dead Polynices (1865), by Nikiforos Lytras. Held at the National Gallery, Athens, Greece. |
Astrological data
Discovery degree: 16+ Leo (81% approx probability)
Discovery Sabian: A Volunteer Church Choir Singing Religious Hymns
Discovery nodal signature: Leo–Aquarius
Estimated orbital resonances: Mercury 1:20, Mars 7:16, Ceres 16:17, Jupiter 17:7
Discovery chart details: Noon chart. Antigone was sesquiquadrate Venus and Sedna, and opposite Ceres. Stellium in Aquarius. Mercury-Pallas square Mars; Venus trine Uranus and semi-square Ceres; Saturn semi-sextile Vesta and Juno, and semi-square Eris. Neptune quincunx Nessus; Chiron semi-sextile Eris and trine Chariklo. Pholus semi-square Sedna.
Summary and references
Meanings offered include: disobedience, justice, integrity no matter the cost, setting aside all considerations except what is right, setting an example – whether in reality or in one’s own perception[1]; family secrets and scandals that can suddenly re-emerge[2]. Antigone may also represent idealism, working against corruption and abuse, egalitarian thought, spiritual conviction and courage.
References:
1) Mark Andrew Holmes: Antigone
2) Neptune’s Aura Astrology: Antigone 129 and Hippodamia 692
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| Noon discovery chart for (129) Antigone: 5th February 1873, Clinton, NY. |