It was the second and last asteroid discovery by the prolific comet discoverer Horace Tuttle, on April 7, 1862.

It is named after Clytia, who loved Helios in Greek mythology.

Of the first one hundred numbered asteroids, Klytia is the smallest.

Based upon photometry observations between 1984 and 2007, it has a sidereal rotation period of 8.283065 h with an amplitude that can range up to 0.34±0.01 in magnitude.

There are two valid solutions for the pole's ecliptic coordinates: (λ1, β1) = (38°, +75°) and (λ2, β2) = (237°, +73°).