Cleopatra is an unusual, elongated asteroid whose bone-shaped appearance makes it one of the most distinctive small objects in the solar system.
Its paired-lobed form and rapid rotation hint at a complex history of collisions, fragments and gravitational balance.
MEADE 14” LX200, SBIG ST2K. Exposure time: 0.6 seconds in high resolution. Image development in CCDops, Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended