196 Philomela is a large and bright main-belt asteroid. It was discovered by C. H. F. Peters on May 14, 1879, in Clinton, New York. The asteroid is named after Philomela, the woman who became a nightingale in Greek mythology.
This object is orbiting the Sun at a distance of with a low eccentricity of 0.018 and an orbital period of 5.50 years. The orbital plane is inclined at an angle of 7.26ð to the plane of the ecliptic. This is a stony S-type asteroid with a diameter of approximately 145 km. It is spinning with a rotation period of 8.334 hours.
In the late 1990s, a network of astronomers worldwide gathered light curve data that was ultimately used to derive the spin states and shape models of 10 new asteroids, including 196 Philomela. The shape model for this asteroid is described as asymmetrical and smooth, while the light curve varies by up to 0.4 in magnitude.
To date there have been two reported Philomelian stellar occultations.