106 Dione

106 Dione

Orbital characteristics 1
Orbit type	Main belt
Semimajor axis	3.168 AU
Perihelion distance	2.615 AU
Aphelion distance	3.722 AU
Orbital period	5.64 years
Inclination	4.62°
Eccentricity	0.175
Physical characteristics 1
Diameter	146.6 km
Rotation period	15 hours
Spectral class	G
Abs. magnitude	7.41
Albedo 4	0.089
History 2
Discoverer	J. C. Watson, 1868

106 Dione is a large main belt asteroid. It probably has a composition similar to 1 Ceres.

It was discovered by J. C. Watson on October 10, 1868 and named after Dione, a Titan in Greek mythology.

Dione occulted a dim star on January 19, 1983. A diameter of 147 km was observed, closely matching the value acquired by the IRAS satellite.

One of Saturn's satellites is also named Dione.