741 Botolphia
741 Botolphia is a 29.6-km diameter minor planet (specifically an asteroid) orbiting in the asteroid belt, discovered by American astronomer Joel Hastings Metcalf on 10 February 1913 from Winchester. It is named after Saint Botolph, the semi-legendary founder of a 7th-century monastery that would become the town of Boston, Lincolnshire, England. This asteroid is orbiting at a distance of from the Sun, with an orbital period of and an eccentricity (ovalness) of 0.07. The orbital plane is inclined at an angle of 8.41° to the ecliptic. Photometric data collected during 2007 were used to produce an asteroid light curve showing a rotation period of , with a brightness amplitude of 0.015 in magnitude. This result is consistent with earlier results by independent observers. 741 Botolphia was initially classified as an X-type asteroid, but it may instead belong to the M-type taxonomy. References External links Background asteroids Botolphia Botolphia X-type asteroids (Tholen) X-type asteroids (SMASS) 19130210