It was discovered byAuguste Charlois on 7 December 1896, inNice. In the late 1990s, a network of astronomers worldwide gathered lightcurve data that was ultimately used to derive the spin states and shape models of 10 new asteroids, including 423 Diotima. The light curve for this asteroid varies "a lot" depending on the position, with the brightness variations ranging from almost zero to up to 0.2 inmagnitude.[6][7] Dunham (2002) used 15chords and obtained an estimated size of171 km × 138 km.[3]
Diotima is named forDiotima of Mantinea, a priestess who was one ofSocrates's teachers. It is one of seven of Charlois's discoveries that was expressly named by the Astromomisches Rechen-Institut (Astronomical Calculation Institute).[8]
The name is stressed on the penultimate syllable,/daɪ.əˈtaɪmə/dy-ə-TY-mə, as in LatinDiotīma.
^Durech, J.; Kaasalainen, M.; Marciniak, A.; Allen, W. H. et al. "Asteroid brightness and geometry,"Astronomy and Astrophysics, Volume 465, Issue 1, April I 2007, pp. 331-337.
^Schmadel Lutz D.Dictionary of Minor Planet Names (fifth edition), Springer, 2003.ISBN3-540-00238-3.