Readablewiki

1108 Demeter

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

1108 Demeter is a dark asteroid in the inner part of the asteroid belt, about 25–31 kilometers across. It was discovered on 31 May 1929 by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth at Heidelberg Observatory in Germany. The asteroid is named after Demeter, the Greek goddess of agriculture.

Orbit and size
- Orbits the Sun every about 3.78 years (1,381 days) at a distance of roughly 1.8–3.1 astronomical units.
- Eccentricity about 0.26 and an inclination of about 25° to the ecliptic.
- Rotation period is around 9.85 hours.
- Surface is very dark, with an albedo around 0.023–0.046, and diameter estimates range from about 25 to 31 km.

Composition
- Spectral data suggest a carbon‑like (C-type) surface, with some similarities to X-type asteroids.

Family classification
- Considered a background (non-family) asteroid in the main belt, though some analyses link it to the Phocaea family by its orbital elements.

Naming
- The naming citation was published in 1955. The Greek form of the name was used to distinguish it from Ceres.


This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 05:00 (CET).