Main-belt asteroid PALLAS

Pallas

Main-belt asteroid

A large main-belt asteroid distinguished by its highly inclined orbit and heavily cratered surface.

View in the 3D observatory

Illustrative surface and shape · Image credits

Equivalent diameter: 513 km
Orbital semimajor axis: 2.77 AU
Model orbital period: 4.609 yr

01 / Overview

Meet Pallas

Pallas travels well outside the plane occupied by most main-belt objects. Zooming out reveals its path above and below the ecliptic.

Shape and composition

High-resolution ESO observations revealed large craters across both hemispheres of Pallas.

Discovery and exploration

Pallas has an orbital inclination of about 35°, greater than that of most main-belt asteroids.

02 / Key data

Core parameters

Equivalent diameter: 513 km
Orbital semimajor axis: 2.77 AU
Model orbital period: 4.609 yr
Rotation period: 7.813 hours
Orbital inclination: 34.933 °
Orbital eccentricity: 0.2307

Data and calculation notes

Asteroid positions use epoch-based JPL orbital snapshots and a two-body approximation. Planetary perturbations and thermal radiation effects are omitted; this is not for close-approach or impact prediction. Except for Ceres's observed near-spherical fallback, scene shapes come from mission or PDS models. True sizes use equivalent radii; asteroids do not participate in eclipse calculations.

03 / Further reading

A closer look

Scale and orbit4

Pallas has an equivalent diameter of about 513 km: the diameter of a sphere with the same volume.
A year on Pallas lasts about 4.61 Earth years.
Using this site's orbital elements, Pallas is about 2.131 AU from the Sun at perihelion.
Using this site's orbital elements, Pallas is about 3.408 AU from the Sun at aphelion.

Sources

Understanding the orbital model2

An orbital snapshot describes motion near its epoch; planetary gravity changes real orbits over time.
Near-Earth asteroid is an orbital classification; it does not mean an impact on Earth is imminent.

Sources

04 / Sources

Trusted sources

ESO — Pallas JPL — Orbital data

Image credits

Published global maps or surface-albedo data are applied only to the matching body. Pallas uses Carry et al.'s published K-band relative-albedo map, which covers about 80% of the surface; unobserved pixels are filled with the mean only to keep the matching model continuous. Psyche uses the per-facet relative-albedo map bundled with DAMIT model 1806. Juno has no downloadable global albedo map, so it keeps its own shape, JPL geometric albedo, and spectral material without borrowing another body's texture.

Surface texture：Carry et al. (2009) K-band map / DAMIT model 102 · License · Rendered by ORBIT