Laura is asteroid #467 and also known as 1901 FY. Laura’s orbit is characterized by a semi-major axis of 2.94 Astronomical Units, an eccentricity of 0.11, a period of revolution of 1 844 days, and an inclination of 6.5 degrees. Laura was discovered by the German (from Baden, a grand-dukedom with Karlsruhe as the capital, while Germany still didn’t exist) astronomer Maximilian Franz Joseph Cornelius Wolf, usually referred to as Max Wolf, at the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory (Landessternwarte Heidelberg-Königstuhl).

Laura is speculated to be named after Laura Adorno, a fictional character from the successful (since the premiere and still sometimes played nowadays) opera La Gioconda by the Italian composer Amilcare Ponchielli. Laura is sung by a mezzo-soprano. Laura is the wife of the inquisitor Alvise Badoero and able to restrain him. She thus in the first of four acts saves a life. She was forced to marry Alvise Badoero, but beforehand was engaged to Prince Grimaldo of Genoa (a principality, not a kingdom), who was banished from Venice, where the opera is set in the 17th century. Prince Grimaldo of Genua disguised himself as a guy named Enzo and visits Venice for abducting Laura because both still are in love with each other. Yet in the second act, when she enters his ship, they get caught by her husband. So in the third act Alvise Badoero lets Laura kill herself with a poison. Yet the singer La Gioconda, whose blind mother’s life beforehand got saved by Laura, interchanged the deadly poison with a poison, which only simulates death. The singer in the fourth act steals Laura’s body, revives her and then Laura finally escapes with her lover.

Laura’s good deed went around and came around. This is the basic idea of the plot of the opera. So the asteroid Laura presides over requital. Laura furthermore represents persons, who are believed to be dead, seem to be dead, or get prematurely buried. Features like being unfaithful aren’t crucial for Laura and hence probably get better representation by other asteroids.