Libra node

Minor planets with their North Node in Libra at discovery.

Othello and Desdemona (c. 1780), from William Blake's Illustrations to Shakespeare. A typical Blake painting in sepia, browns and greys. Othello (left), a young Black man dressed in armour and a cloak with uncovered head, holds Desdemona's hand and one arm surrounds her waist. He gazes at her with a loving expression. Desdemona's other hand rests across her chest, and she returns his gaze with some demureness. She is a young white woman in a simple, pale dress with a loose headdress partially covering golden hair.
Aquarius discovery, Asteroids, Central main belt objects, Focus On, Main belt objects

Focus On: (666) Desdemona

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Name origin: Desdemona, character in Shakespeare’s Othello. The name may have been inspired by the asteroid’s provisional designation, containing the letters “DM”. Desdemona is the faithful wife of Othello whose reputation is muddied by the villain Iago.

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Ruins of Aeclanum, a Roman town in Irpinia district, now Avellino, Campania. The ruin stands in a green park with trees in the background. A diamond patterning is visible on most of the walls, alongside thinly layered horizontal reddish bricks.
Aries discovery, Asteroids, Central main belt objects, Focus On, Main belt objects

Focus On: (377) Campania

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Name origin: Campania, a region of south-west Italy. Occupied by several Italic tribes since the beginning of the 1st millennium BCE. The Etruscans and Greeks established colonies in the Campanian Plains and in Naples respectively, before it became part of the Roman republic by the end of the 4th century BCE.

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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

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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.

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Mosaic of Polyphemos and Galatea, Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos.
Aries discovery, Asteroids, Central main belt objects, Focus On, Main belt objects

Focus On: (74) Galatea

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Name origin: Greek – either a Nereid, or a mortal formed from a statue. Galateia was one of the fifty Nereides and the goddess of calm seas, wooed by Polyphemos with music, milk and cheese.

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Detail of an illustration of the Spring of Narcissus from the 13th-century Le Roman de la Rose.
Asteroids, Focus On, Inner main belt objects, Main belt objects, Pisces discovery

Focus On: (60) Echo

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Zeus ordered Ekho to protect him when he was dallying with her fellow nymphs. She did this by engaging his wife Hera in chat when about to discover her husband’s infidelity. As punishment, Hera cursed Ekho by only allowing her to repeat another’s words. Afterwards, Ekho fell in love with the mortal Narcissus, who spurned her. He wasted away pining for his own reflection, and she eventually did the same in mourning for him.

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Floor mosaic at the House of Mnemosyne in Antioch, dated 2nd-3rd century CE. The goddess places her hand on the back of a man's head, symbolically aiding his memory.
Aries discovery, Asteroids, Focus On, Main belt objects, Outer main belt objects

Focus On: (57) Mnemosyne

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Name origin: Greek Goddess of memory. In the Greek tradition, Mnemosyne is one of the Titans, the twelve divine children of the earth-goddess Gaia and the sky-god Uranus. She is also the mother of the nine Muses by her nephew Zeus.

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