(12606) Apuleius Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 24 September 1960 by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T. at Palomar.
Lucius Apuleius (ca. 125-ca. 180) was a Roman writer and orator. His most important work is the satirical Metamorphoses, popularly known as The Golden Ass, in which a young man is magically changed into a donkey. The work also contains the story of Amor and Psyche.Naming citation (20071124/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Apuleius is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Apuleius is 2.48 au from the Sun and 1.54 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 12606 |
| Provisional designation | 2043 P-L |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 2.33 km (#16,545 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.391 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 15.03 |
| Orbital period | 3.86 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.46 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.81 – 3.11 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.265 |
| Inclination | 5.84° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.801 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 24 September 1960
- (1743) Schmidt
- (1744) Harriet
- (1776) Kuiper
- (1777) Gehrels
- (1795) Woltjer
- (1808) Bellerophon
- (1809) Prometheus
- (1810) Epimetheus
- (1811) Bruwer
- (1812) Gilgamesh
- (1846) Bengt
- (1868) Thersites