Discovery
Fortuna was discovered by John Russell Hind on August 22, 1852 in London.
Naming
Fortuna the asteroid was named after Fortuna, the Roman goddess of luck.
Fortuna (equivalent to the Greek goddess Tyche) was the goddess of fortune and personification of luck in Roman religion. She might bring good luck or bad: she could be represented as veiled and blind, as in modern depictions of Justice, and came to represent life's capriciousness.
Stats
Diameter (mean): 225 km
Aphelion: 2.831 AU
Perihelion: 2.057 AU
Semi-major axis: 2.442 AU
Orbital Period: 3.82 years
Rotation period: 7.443 hrs
Date discovered: 1852.8.22
Class: G
Type: Main-belt Asteroid
Physical Characteristics
Fortuna has one of the darkest known geometric albedos for an asteroid over 150 km in diameter. Its albedo has been measured at 0.028 and 0.037.
Fortuna has a composition similar to 1 Ceres: a darkly colored surface that is heavily space-weathered with the composition of primitive organic compounds, including tholins.
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