Asteroid 2878, Panacea, was discovered on September 7, 1980 by Edward "Ted" Bowell at the Anderson Mesa Station of Lowell Observatory near Flagstaff, Arizona. It has a period of 5 years, 97 days and is about 9 2/3 miles in diameter.
It was named for Panacea, the Greco-Roman goddess of universal health and healing.
Panacea giving medicine to a baby; part of a 1716 woodcut by Italian physician Giuseppe Gazola
Asteroid Panacea's astrological meaning seems to be: "how shall this be balanced?" (Henk Middelraad).