1916 Boreas a rotation period between 3.4741 and 3.49 hours with a brightness variation between 0.25 and 0.35 magnitude (). In 1994, astronomer Tom Gehrels estimated "Boreas" to measure 3.5 kilometers in diameter, based on an assumed albedo of 0.15. The "Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link" assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 3.07 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 14.93. This minor planet is named after the Greek god of the north wind, Boreas, as the asteroid was discovered moving rapidly northward after passing the ascending node of its orbit. The official naming citation was
Greek mythology in popular culture to name its equipment such as the Nike missile project and the Navy having over a dozen ships named from Greek mythology. Greek mythology has been the source for names for a number of ships in the British navy as well as the Australian Royal Navy which has also named a training facility in Victoria called HMAS Cerebus. The Canadair CP-107 Argus of the Royal Canadian Air Force is named in honor of both the hundred eyed Argus Panoptes the "all seeing" and Odysseus' dog Argus who was the only one who identified Odysseus upon his return home. Many celestial