Basics
Class: S-type asteroid
Location: Main belt, Hansa family
Orbit length (approx): 4.30 years
Discovered: 21st May 1901, 23:37 UTC, from Heidelberg, Germany, by Max Wolf and Luigi Carnera
Notes: Approx 56 km in diameter, possibly elongated in shape, high inclination.
Events at time of discovery:
- May 17 – Panic of 1901: The New York Stock Exchange crashes
- May 21 – Birth of Manfred Aschner, German-born Israeli microbiologist, entomologist and recipient of the Israel Prize
- – Birth of Horace Heidt, American bandleader
- – Birth of Sam Jaffe, American film producer
- – Birth of Suzanne Lilar, Belgian essayist, novelist and playwright
- May 24 – 81 miners are killed in an accident at Universal Colliery, Senghenydd in South Wales.
Naming information
Name origin: The Hanseatic League, a northern continental European commercial and defensive confederation of cities. The word ‘hansa’ or ‘hanse’ means ‘convoy’ in Old German, and refers to the merchants travelling between points in the League. While the area was not generally independent, it was influential and had diplomatic privileges. Some of the Gothic architecture remains.
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| The Holstentor, built in 1464 and the only city gate in Lübeck still standing. Lübeck was a founding city of the Hanseatic League; the gate bears the motto Concordia domi foris pax (Harmony at home, peace abroad). Photo by Dietmar Rabich. |
Astrological data
Discovery degree: 18+ Sagittarius
Discovery Sabian: Pelicans Menaced by the Behaviour and Refuse of Men Seek Safer Areas for Bringing Up Their Young
Discovery nodal signature: Scorpio–Taurus
Estimated orbital resonances: Mercury 1:18, Venus 1:7, Earth 3:13, Mars 1:2, Ceres 14:13, Jupiter 11:4
Discovery chart details: Sabian unique on index. Nodes shared with Pomona, Freia, Sappho, Hilda, Kleopatra, Haidea, Luscinia and Ulula; resonances with Eunomia, Fides, Oceana and Mathilde.
Summary and references
Suggested meanings include “mercantile ability, particularly in associations with others”[1]; also possibly implies adventure and curiosity expressed in relationship; synchronicities that draw people together; childlike interest in the unknown; the security of alliances and groups (especially as a bulwark against oppression).
References:
1) James R. Lewis: The Astrology Book: The Encyclopedia of Heavenly Influences (Visible Ink Press, 2003)
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| Discovery chart for (480) Hansa: 21st May 1901, 23:37 UTC, Heidelberg, Germany. The asteroid is not depicted. |