Deucalion
Number
53311
Provisional name
1999 HU11
Class
Cubewano
Discovery date
18.04.1999
Discovery chart
Discovery position
24° Libra 06' Rx
Time of announcement
19.05.1999 - 22:21 UT
Orbital period
295.4 years
Orbit
  • crosses only the orbit of Pluto
Aphelion
47.063 AU
Perihelion
41.321 AU
Semimajor axis
44.192 AU
Magnitude
6.6
Diameter
91 - 288 km

Photograph copyright © Susanna Kauppinen. All rights reserved.
Photo: Copyright © Susanna Kauppinen.

Mythology
Zeus had decided to destroy humankind. A pouring rain from the heavens flooded the world, so that all men were destroyed, except Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha. They had been forewarned of the deluge and built an ark. Some sources suggest that Deucalion is to be identified with Aquarius, the water bearer. The rains of the water bearer are a gift from the gods.

Deucalion and Pyrrha drifted to the high mountains, where an oracle told them to "throw the bones of their mother" behind them. They decided that their mother is Gaia and stones are her bones. They threw rocks behind their shoulders, and the rocks formed people and repopulated the Earth. Those thrown by Pyrrha became women; Deucalion's became men.

Deucalion
 
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