378 Holmia

378 Holmia is a stony asteroid located in the main asteroid belt. It was discovered by Auguste Charlois on 6 December 1893, in Nice. Its name comes from the Holmia, the Latin name for Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. It is irregular in shape and in diameter, rotating once every 4.44 hours.

Discovery and naming

Holmia was discovered by astronomer Auguste Charlois on 6 December 1893 at Nice Observatory. It was given the provisional designation and assigned the number, and its discovery was announced in the journal Astronomische Nachrichten on 13 December. The asteroid is named after the Latin form of Sweden's capital, Stockholm—Holmia. This etymology is shared with element 67, holmium.
In 1925, the old-style scheme for minor planet provisional designations was replaced by the scheme currently in use. The Minor Planet Center has since retroactively applied the new-style scheme to pre-1925 designations. Thus, Holmia's provisional designation given upon its discovery was changed to .

Orbit

Holmia orbits the Sun at an average distance—its semi-major axis—of 2.78 astronomical units, placing it in the main asteroid belt. Along its 4.63 year long orbit, its distance from the Sun varies from 2.42 AU at perihelion to 3.14 AU at aphelion due to its orbital eccentricity of 0.13. Its orbit is inclined by 7.01° with respect to the ecliptic plane.

Physical characteristics

Holmia has an estimated diameter of. Under the Tholen classification scheme, it is categorized as an S-type asteroid, and it has a geometric albedo of 0.339. Analysis of its lightcurve, or variations in its observed brightness, suggests that it has a rotation period of 4.44 hours. Its lightcurve also indicates that it is irregular in shape, with flat features near its equator.