Asteroid Fact Sheet

Ceres

Information on Selected Asteroids

The image above is Ceres taken from the Dawn spacecraft. Below is a table of information on selected asteroids, and at the bottom of the page are comments on the asteroids. Orbit values for epoch JD 2457400.5 (2016-01-13). Most of the values for mass and many of the diameter values are only rough estimates.

Asteroid Diameter ~Mass Rotation Orbital Spectral Semi-major Orbital Orbital Asteroid
Number and Name (km) (1015kg) Period Period Class Axis Eccentricity Inclination Number and Name
----------------- --------------- ------- --------- -------- -------- --------- ------------ ----------- -----------------
1 Ceres 965 x 961 x 891 939,300 9.074 hrs 4.60 yrs C 2.768 AU 0.0758 10.59 deg 1 Ceres
2 Pallas 582 x 556 x 500 205,000 7.813 hrs 4.61 yrs U 2.772 AU 0.2310 34.84 deg 2 Pallas
3 Juno 234 20,000 7.210 hrs 4.36 yrs S 2.670 AU 0.2563 12.99 deg 3 Juno
4 Vesta 569 x 555 x 453 259,000 5.342 hrs 3.63 yrs U 2.362 AU 0.0889 7.14 deg 4 Vesta
21 Lutetia 124 x 101 x 80 1,700 8.168 hrs 3.80 yrs C 2.435 AU 0.1646 3.06 deg 21 Lutetia
45 Eugenia 215 6,100 5.699 hrs 4.49 yrs FC 2.721 AU 0.0835 6.60 deg 45 Eugenia
140 Siwa 103 1,500 18.5 hrs 4.51 yrs C 2.732 AU 0.2161 3.19 deg 140 Siwa
216 Kleopatra 217 x 94   5.385 hrs 4.67 yrs M 2.794 AU 0.2504 13.11 deg 216 Kleopatra
243 Ida 58 x 23 100 4.633 hrs 4.84 yrs S 2.861 AU 0.0412 1.13 deg 243  Ida
253 Mathilde 66 x 48 x 46 103.3 417.7 hrs 4.31 yrs C 2.647 AU 0.2655 6.74 deg 253 Mathilde
433 Eros 33 x 13 x 13 6.69 5.270 hrs 1.76 yrs S 1.458 AU 0.2227 10.83 deg 433 Eros
1566 Icarus 1.4 0.001 2.273 hrs 1.12 yrs U 1.078 AU 0.8269 22.83 deg 1566 Icarus
1620 Geographos 2.0 0.004 5.222 hrs 1.39 yrs S 1.245 AU 0.3354 13.34 deg 1620 Geographos
1862  Apollo 1.6 0.002 3.063 hrs 1.81 yrs S 1.470 AU 0.5599 6.35 deg 1862  Apollo
2060  Chiron 180 4,000 5.9 hrs 50.7 yrs B 13.637 AU 0.3827 6.94 deg 2060  Chiron
2530  Shipka   5.25 yrs   3.017 AU 0.1280 10.11 deg 2530  Shipka
2703  Rodari   5.5 hrs 3.25 yrs   2.194 AU 0.0566 6.03 deg 2703  Rodari
2867  Steins 6.8 x 5.7 x 4.4   6.049 hrs 3.64 yrs E 2.363 AU 0.1455 9.93 deg 2867  Steins
3352  McAuliffe 2 - 5   2.57 yrs   1.879 AU 0.3690 4.77 deg 3352  McAuliffe
3840  Mimistrobell   3.38 yrs   2.250 AU 0.0827 3.92 deg 3840  Mimistrobell
4179  Toutatis 4.6 x 2.4 x 1.9 0.05 130. hrs 3.98 yrs S 2.534 AU 0.6294 0.45 deg 4179  Toutatis
4769  Castalia 1.8 x 0.8 0.0005 4.095 hrs 1.10 yrs   1.063 AU 0.4831 8.89 deg 4769  Castalia
4979  Otawara 5.5 0.2 2.707 hrs 3.19 yrs   2.168 AU 0.1441 0.91 deg 4979  Otawara
5535  AnneFrank 4.8   15.12 hrs 3.29 yrs S 2.213 AU 0.0635 4.25 deg 5535  AnneFrank
9969  Braille 2.2 x 1.0   226.4 hrs 3.58 yrs B 2.341 AU 0.4333 29.00 deg 9969  Braille
25143  Itokawa 0.5 x 0.3 x 0.2 0.000035 12.13 hrs 1.52 yrs S 1.324 AU 0.2801 1.62 deg 25143  Itokawa
101955  Bennu 0.49 0.000073 4.276 hrs 1.20 yrs   1.126 AU 0.2037 6.03 deg 101955  Bennu

1 Ceres - The largest and first discovered asteroid, by G. Piazzi on January 1, 1801. Ceres comprises over one-third the 2.3 x 1021 kg estimated total mass of all the asteroids. Studied from orbit by the Dawn mission in 2015-2016.
2 Pallas - The 2nd largest asteroid and second asteroid discovered, by H. Olbers in 1802.
3 Juno - The 3rd asteroid discovered, by K. Harding in 1804.
4 Vesta - The 3rd largest asteroid, Vesta was studied from orbit by the Dawn mission in 2011 - 2012.
21 Lutetia - Main belt asteroid, object of Rosetta spacecraft flyby on 10 July 2010.
45 Eugenia - Believed to have a small satellite S/1998 (45) 1 in near circular 4.7 day orbit.
140 Siwa - Originally scheduled for July 2008 flyby by the Rosetta spacecraft. The mission has been rerouted.
216 Kleopatra - Imaged by Arecibo radar, shown to have unusual "dog-bone" shape.
243 Ida - Imaged by Galileo on 28 August 1993. These images showed a small satellite, subsequently named Dactyl, in orbit about Ida.
253 Mathilde - Target of NEAR mission flyby on 27 June 1997 en route to 433 Eros.
433 Eros - Near-Earth asteroid being studied from orbit by the NEAR mission, which flew by Eros in February 1999 and went into orbit in February 2000.
951 Gaspra - Imaged by Galileo on 29 Oct 1991.
1566 Icarus - Highly eccentric Earth-crossing orbit.
1620 Geographos - Scheduled to be visited by Clementine before a computer malfunction cut the mission short.
1862 Apollo - First discovered Earth-crossing asteroid.
2060 Chiron - Asteroid/Comet (95P/Chiron) in chaotic eccentric orbit near Saturn and Uranus. 14 February 1996 perihelion was the subject of the Chiron Perihelion Campaign.
2530 Shipka - Originally scheduled for October, 2008 flyby by the Rosetta spacecraft. The mission has been rerouted.
2703 Rodari - Originally scheduled for May, 2008 flyby by the Rosetta spacecraft. The mission has been rerouted.
2867 Steins - Main belt asteroid, object of Rosetta spacecraft flyby on 5 September 2008.
3352 McAuliffe - Amor (Mars-crossing) asteroid originally scheduled for 1999 flyby by the New Millenium Deep Space 1 spacecraft.
3840 Mimistrobell - Originally scheduled for September, 2006 flyby by the Rosetta spacecraft.
4179 Toutatis - Double object, probably in contact, one 2.5 km and one 1.5 km diameter (estimated), imaged by Arecibo and Goldstone radar. Object of Chang'e 2 flyby on 13 December 2012.
4660 Nereus - Near-Earth asteroid, target of proposed NEAP (Near Earth Asteroid Prospector) rendezvous.
4769 Castalia - Double-lobed near-Earth asteroid, each lobe about .75 km diameter. Imaged by Arecibo radar.
4979 Otawara - Originally scheduled for July 2006 flyby by the Rosetta spacecraft on its way to Comet P/Wirtanen. The mission has been rerouted.
5535 AnneFrank - Target of November 2002 flyby by the Stardust spacecraft on its way to Comet P/Wild 2.
9969 Braille - Near-Earth asteroid target of 28 July 1999 flyby by the Deep Space 1 spacecraft.
25143 Itokawa - (1998 SF36) Near-Earth asteroid target of 2005 orbit and 2007 sample return by the Hayabusa spacecraft.
101955 Bennu - (1999 RQ36) Near-Earth asteroid target of sample collection by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft in 2018.

New masses calculated for 3 largest asteroids - U.S. Naval Observatory press release, 7 January 1998

Notes on the Fact Sheets
Asteroid Home Page
Directory to other Planetary Fact Sheets
NASA
Author/Curator:
Dr. David R. Williams, dave.williams@nasa.gov
NSSDCA, Mail Code 690.1
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, MD 20771
+1-301-286-1258

NASA Official: Dave Williams, david.r.williams@nasa.gov
Last Updated: 27 September 2019, DRW