624 Hektor

624 Hektor is the largest of the Jovian Trojan asteroids. It was discovered in 1907 by August Kopff.

Hektor is thought to be one of the most elongated bodies in the solar system, being 370 × 195 km. Although its shape has never been imaged clearly, it may look something like 216 Kleopatra, or it may be two separate bodies orbiting very close together. It is a D-type asteroid, dark and reddish in colour.

Hektor lies in Jupiter's leading Lagrangian point, L₄, called the 'Greek' node after one of the two sides in the legendary Trojan War. Ironically, Hektor is named after the Trojan hero Hektor, and is thus one of two Trojan asteroids that is "misplaced" in the wrong camp (the other being 617 Patroclus in the Trojan node).

Hektor in fiction

• Stephen Baxter's short story 'The Fubar Suit' (1997) depicts an astronaut exploring Hektor. Sample from 'The Baxterium' website.