228 Agathe

Agathe (minor planet designation: 228 Agathe) is a stony main belt asteroid, about 9 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by Johann Palisa on 19 August 1882 at Vienna Observatory, Austria. Photometric observations during 2003 showed a rotation period of 6.48 ± 0.01 hours with a brightness variation of 0.27 ± 0.03 in magnitude. An earlier study yielded results that are consistent with these estimates. Agathe is the lowest numbered asteroid to have an Earth-MOID as low as 0.657 AU. On 23 August 2029 the asteroid will be 0.659 AU from Earth.

Agathe was named after the youngest daughter of Austrian astronomer Theodor von Oppolzer (1841–1886), professor of astronomy in Vienna.