| Minorplanet: | yes |
| 61 Danaë | |
| Background: |
|
| Discovery Ref: |   |
| Discovered: | 9 September 1860 |
| Mpc Name: | (61) Danaë |
| Alt Names: | A917 SM |
| Pronounced: | [1] |
| Adjective: | Danaëan [2] |
| Mp Category: | main-belt  background  |
| Orbit Ref: |   |
| Epoch: | 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) |
| Uncertainty: | 0 |
| Observation Arc: | 151.67 yr (55,398 days) |
| Perihelion: | 2.4840 AU |
| Semimajor: | 2.9819 AU |
| Eccentricity: | 0.1670 |
| Period: | 5.15 yr (1,881 days) |
| Mean Motion: | / day |
| Inclination: | 18.212° |
| Asc Node: | 333.72° |
| Arg Peri: | 12.695° |
| Dimensions: | km km km km km km |
| Density: | g/cm3 |
| Rotation: | h h |
| Albedo: | |
| Spectral Type: | Tholen S  SMASS S  B–V 0.852  U–B 0.402  |
| Abs Magnitude: | 7.68 |
61 Danaë is a stony (S-type) asteroid in the outer asteroid belt's background population, approximately 84 kilometer in diameter. It was discovered by French astronomer Hermann Goldschmidt on 9 September 1860, from his balcony in Paris, France. Goldschmidt was ill when asked to name the asteroid, and requested his fellow asteroid-hunter Robert Luther to name it instead. Luther chose to name it after Danaë, the mother of Perseus in Greek mythology. Danaë was the first asteroid to have a diacritical character in its official name.
The asteroid is orbiting the Sun with a period of 5.15 years and is rotating on its axis once every 11.45 hours. In 1985, a study of lightcurve data suggested that Danaë may have a moon. If so, the main body would be an ellipsoid measuring 85×, and the moon would orbit 101km (63miles) away, measuring 55×. The density of both would be .[3]