208 Lacrimosa

Lacrimosa (minor planet designation: 208 Lacrimosa) is a main-belt asteroid that was discovered by Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa on October 21, 1879, in Pola. The name derives from Our Lady of Sorrows, a title given to Mary, the mother of Jesus. It is orbiting the Sun at a distance of $41.33 km$ with a period of 1797.5 days and an eccentricity (ovalness) of 0.013. The orbital plane is inclined at an angle of 1.7° to the plane of the ecliptic.

During 2003, the asteroid was observed occulting a star. The resulting chords provided a cross-section diameter estimate of 44.3 km. 10μ radiometric data collected from Kitt Peak in 1975 gave a diameter estimate of 42 km for this asteroid. It is classified as an S-type asteroid and is one of the largest members of the Koronis asteroid family. Hence it is probably a piece of the original asteroid that was shattered in an ancient impact that created the family.