List of exceptional asteroids

VLT/SPHERE images of most asteroids > 210 km in diameter to scale. Deconvolved with MISTRAL algorithm. Main-belt asteroids > 200 km that were not imaged are (451) Patientia, (65) Cybele and (107) Camilla. Trojan (624) Hektor may also be in this size range.
VLT/SPHERE images of a large number of asteroids 100 to 210 km in diameter, to scale. (10) Hygiea, (31) Euphrosyne and (8) Flora have collisional families; all three are round due to having re-coalesced after being disrupted.

The following is a collection of lists of asteroids of the Solar System that are exceptional in some way, such as their size or orbit. For the purposes of this article, "asteroid" refers to minor planets out to the orbit of Neptune, and includes the dwarf planet 1 Ceres, the Jupiter trojans and the centaurs, but not trans-Neptunian objects (objects in the Kuiper belt, scattered disc or inner Oort cloud). For a complete list of minor planets in numerical order, see List of minor planets.

Asteroids are given minor planet numbers, but not all minor planets are asteroids. Minor planet numbers are also given to objects of the Kuiper belt, which is similar to the asteroid belt but farther out (around 30–60 AU), whereas asteroids are mostly between 2–3 AU from the Sun or at the orbit of Jupiter 5 AU from the Sun. Also, comets are not typically included under minor planet numbers, and have their own naming conventions.

Asteroids are given a unique sequential identifying number once their orbit is precisely determined. Prior to this, they are known only by their systematic name or provisional designation, such as 1950 DA.

Physical characteristics

Largest by diameter

Estimating the sizes of asteroids from observations is difficult due to their irregular shapes, varying albedo, and small angular diameter. Observations by the Very Large Telescope of most large asteroids were published 2019–2021.

Name Diameter (km)
(geometric mean)
Dimensions (km) Mean distance
from Sun (in AU)
Inclination (°) Date discovered Discoverer Class
1 Ceres 939.4±0.2 964.4 × 964.2 × 891.8 2.766 10.6 January 1, 1801 Piazzi, G. G
4 Vesta 525.4±0.2 572.6 × 557.2 × 446.4 ± 0.2 2.362 7.14 March 29, 1807 Olbers, H. W. V
2 Pallas 511±4 568×530×450 2.773 34.9 March 28, 1802 Olbers, H. W. B
10 Hygiea 433±8 450×430×424 3.139 5.1 April 12, 1849 de Gasparis, A. C
704 Interamnia 332±5 362×348×310 3.062 17.3 October 2, 1910 Cerulli, V. F
52 Europa 319±4 378×336×255 3.095 7.48 February 4, 1858 Goldschmidt, H. C
511 Davida 298±4 359×293×253 3.168 15.9 May 30, 1903 Dugan, R. S. C
87 Sylvia 271±5 363×249×191
or 374×248×194
3.485 10.9 May 16, 1866 Pogson, N. R. X
15 Eunomia 270±3 357×255×212 2.643 11.75 July 29, 1851 de Gasparis, A. S
31 Euphrosyne 268±4 294×280×248 3.149 26.3 September 1, 1854 Ferguson, J. C
65 Cybele 263±3 297 × 291 × 213 3.439 3.56 March 8, 1861 Tempel, E. W. C
624 Hektor 256±12
(if bilobe)
403 × 201 5.235 18.66 February 10, 1907 Kopff, A. D
3 Juno 254±2 288×250×225 2.672 12.98 September 1, 1804 Harding, K. L. S
451 Patientia 254±3 3.059 15.2 December 4, 1899 Charlois, A.
107 Camilla 254±12 3.476 10 November 17, 1868 Pogson, N. R. C
324 Bamberga 227±3 234×224×225 2.684 11.1 February 25, 1892 Palisa, J. C
16 Psyche 223±3 279×232×189 ± 10% 2.924 3.1 March 17, 1852 de Gasparis, A. M
88 Thisbe 218±3 255×232×193 2.769 5.22 June 15, 1866 Peters, C. H. F. B
48 Doris 215±3 257×211×185 3.108 6.55 September 19, 1857 Goldschmidt, H. C
19 Fortuna 211±2 225×205×195 2.442 1.57 August 22, 1852 Hind, J. R. G
121 Hermione 209±5? 3.457 7.6 May 12, 1872 Watson, J. C. C
24 Themis 208±3 232×220×176 3.136 0.76 April 5, 1853 de Gasparis, A. C
94 Aurora 205±4 ? (< 200 km) 225×173 3.160 7.97 September 6, 1867 Watson, J. C. C
29 Amphitrite 204±2 222×209×183 2.554 6.08 March 1, 1854 Marth, A. S
13 Egeria 202±3 238×199×182 2.576 16.54 November 2, 1850 de Gasparis, A. G
130 Elektra 199±2 262×205×164 3.127 22.78 February 17, 1873 C. H. F. Peters C
7 Iris 199±10 268×234×180 2.386 5.52 August 13, 1847 Hind, J. R. S
6 Hebe 195±3 205x185x170 2.426 14.75 July 1, 1847 Hencke, K. L. S
375 Ursula 192±4 3.126 15.94 September 18, 1893 Charlois, A. C
702 Alauda 191±2 3.195 20.59 July 16, 1910 Helffrich, J. C/B
45 Eugenia 188±2 252×191×138 2.720 6.61 June 27, 1857 Goldschmidt, H. F
41 Daphne 187±13 235×183×153 2.765 15.77 May 22, 1856 Goldschmidt, H. C
423 Diotima 176±4 3.065 11.23 December 7, 1896 Charlois, A. C
259 Aletheia 174±1 3.135 10.81 June 28, 1886 Peters, C. H. F. C/P/X
372 Palma 174±3 3.149 23.83 August 19, 1893 Charlois, A. B
9 Metis 173±2 222×182×130 2.385 5.58 April 25, 1848 Graham, A. S
532 Herculina 168±1 2.772 16.31 April 20, 1904 Wolf, M. S
354 Eleonora 165±3 191×162×144 2.798 18.4 January 17, 1893 Auguste Charlois S
128 Nemesis 163±5 178×163×147 2.751 6.25 November 25, 1872 Watson, J. C. C
(4:1 resonance) [sort by 'Mean Distance from Sun' to place in table] 2.06 (defines inner edge of main belt)
(3:1 resonance) 2.50 (separates inner from middle belt)
(5:2 resonance) 2.82 (separates middle from outer belt)
(7:3 resonance) 2.95
(2:1 resonance) 3.27 (defines outermost belt)
(1:1 resonance) 5.20 (Trojan asteroids – defines outer edge of main belt)

The number of bodies grows rapidly as the size decreases. Based on IRAS data there are about 140 main-belt asteroids with a diameter greater than 120 km, which is approximately the transition point between surviving primordial asteroids and fragments thereof. For a more complete list, see List of Solar System objects by size.

The inner asteroid belt (defined as the region interior to the 3:1 Kirkwood gap at 2.50 AU) has few large asteroids. Of those in the above list, only 4 Vesta, 19 Fortuna, 6 Hebe, 7 Iris and 9 Metis orbit there. (Sort table by mean distance.)

Most massive

Below are the sixteen most-massive measured asteroids. Ceres, at a third the estimated mass of the asteroid belt, is half again as massive as the next fifteen put together. The masses of asteroids are estimated from perturbations they induce on the orbits of other asteroids, except for asteroids that have been visited by spacecraft or have an observable moon, where a direct mass calculation is possible. Different sets of astrometric observations lead to different mass determinations; the biggest problem is accounting for the aggregate perturbations caused by all of the smaller asteroids.

Comparative masses of the asteroids with nominal masses > 20×1018 kg, assuming a total Main Belt mass of 2394×1018 kg. The mass of Herculina is particularly uncertain.
Asteroids with nominal mass > 10×1018 kg
Name Mass
(×1018 kg)
Precision Approx.
proportion
of all
asteroids
1 Ceres 938.35 0.001% (938.34–938.36) 39.2%
4 Vesta 259.076 0.0004% (259.075–259.077) 10.8%
2 Pallas 204 1.5% (201–207) 8.5%
10 Hygiea 87 8% (80–94) 3.6%
704 Interamnia 35 14% (30–40) 1.5%
15 Eunomia 30 6% (29–32) 1.3%
3 Juno 27 9% (25–29) 1.1%
511 Davida 27 27% (19–34) 1.1%
52 Europa 24 16% (20–28) 1.0%
16 Psyche 23 13% (20–26) 1.0%
532 Herculina ≈ 23 ? ≈ 1%
31 Euphrosyne 17 18% (14–19) 0.7%
65 Cybele 15 12% (13–17) 0.6%
87 Sylvia 14.76 0.4% (14.70–14.82) 0.6%
7 Iris 14 17% (11–16) 0.6%
29 Amphitrite 13 16% (11–15) 0.5%
6 Hebe 12 20% (10–15) 0.5%
88 Thisbe 12 20% (9–14) 0.5%
107 Camilla 11.2 1% (11.1–11.3) 0.5%
324 Bamberga 10 9% (9–11) 0.4%
Total 1781 NA 75%

The proportions assume that the total mass of the asteroid belt is 2.39×1021 kg, or (12.4±1.0)×10−10 M.

Outside the top four, the ranking of all the asteroids is uncertain, as there is a great deal of overlap among the estimates.

The largest asteroids with an accurately measured mass, because they have been studied by the probe Dawn, are 1 Ceres with a mass of (939.3±0.5)×1018 kg, and 4 Vesta at (259.076±0.001)×1018 kg. The third-largest asteroid with an accurately measured mass, because it has moons, is 87 Sylvia at (14.76±0.06)×1018 kg. Other large asteroids with masses measured from their moons are 107 Camilla and 130 Elektra.

For a more complete list, see List of Solar System objects by size. Other large asteroids such as 423 Diotima currently only have estimated masses.

Brightest from Earth

Only Vesta is regularly bright enough to be seen with the naked eye. Under ideal viewing conditions with very dark skies, a keen eye might be able to also see Ceres, as well as Pallas and Iris at their rare perihelic oppositions. The following asteroids can all reach an apparent magnitude brighter than or equal to the +8.3 attained by Saturn's moon Titan at its brightest, which was discovered 145 years before the first asteroid was found owing to its closeness to the easily observed Saturn.

None of the asteroids in the outer part of the asteroid belt can ever attain this brightness. Even Hygiea and Interamnia rarely reach magnitudes of above 10.0. This is due to the different distributions of spectral types within different sections of the asteroid belt: the highest-albedo asteroids are all concentrated closer to the orbit of Mars, and much lower albedo C and D types are common in the outer belt.

Those asteroids with very high eccentricities will only reach their maximum magnitude rarely, when their perihelion is very close to a heliocentric conjunction with Earth, or (in the case of 99942 Apophis, (152680) 1998 KJ9, (153814) 2001 WN5, and 367943 Duende) when the asteroid passes very close to Earth.

Asteroid Magnitude
when
brightest
Semi-
major
axis
(AU)
Eccentricity
of orbit
Diameter
(km)
Year of
discovery
99942 Apophis 3.4* 0.922 0.191 0.32 2004
4 Vesta 5.20 2.361 0.089172 529 1807
2 Pallas 6.49 2.773 0.230725 544 1802
1 Ceres 6.65 2.766 0.079905 952 1801
7 Iris 6.73 2.385 0.231422 200 1847
433 Eros 6.8 1.458 0.222725 34 × 11 × 11 1898
(153814) 2001 WN5 6.85 1.711 0.467207 0.93 2001
367943 Duende 7.04 0.910 0.089319 0.04 × 0.02 2012
6 Hebe 7.5 2.425 0.201726 186 1847
3 Juno 7.5 2.668 0.258194 233 1804
18 Melpomene 7.5 2.296 0.218708 141 1852
(152680) 1998 KJ9 7.74 1.448 0.639770 0.5 1998
15 Eunomia 7.9 2.643 0.187181 268 1851
8 Flora 7.9 2.202 0.156207 128 1847
324 Bamberga 8.0 2.682 0.338252 229 1892
1036 Ganymed 8.1 2.6657 0.533710 32 1924
9 Metis 8.1 2.387 0.121441 190 1848
192 Nausikaa 8.2 2.404 0.246216 103 1879
20 Massalia 8.3 2.409 0.142880 145 1852

* Apophis will only achieve that brightness on April 13, 2029. It typically has an apparent magnitude of 20–22.

Slowest rotators

This list contains the slowest-rotating known minor planets with a period of at least 1000 hours, or 4123 days, while most bodies have rotation periods between 2 and 20 hours. Also see Potentially slow rotators for minor planets with an insufficiently accurate period (U < 2).

# Minor planet designation Rotation period
(hours)
Δmag Quality
(U)
Orbit or family Spectral type Diameter
(km)
Abs. mag
(H)
Refs
1. (162058) 1997 AE12 1880 0.6 NEO S 0.782 17.9 LCDB  · List
2. 846 Lipperta 1641 0.30 Themis CBU: 52.41 10.26 LCDB  · List
3. 2440 Educatio 1561 0.80 Flora S 6.51 13.1 LCDB  · List
4. 912 Maritima 1332 0.18 3− MBA (outer) C 82.14  9.30 LCDB  · List
5. 9165 Raup 1320 1.34 3− Hungaria S 4.62 13.60 LCDB  · List
6. 1235 Schorria 1265 1.40 Hungaria CX: 5.04 13.10 LCDB  · List
7. 50719 Elizabethgriffin 1256 0.42 Eunomia S 3.40 14.65 LCDB  · List
8. (75482) 1999 XC173 1234.2 0.69 Vestian S 2.96 15.01 LCDB  · List
9. 288 Glauke 1170 0.90 MBA (outer) S 32.24 10.00 LCDB  · List
10. (39546) 1992 DT5 1167.4 0.80 MBA (outer) C 5.34 15.09 LCDB  · List
11. 496 Gryphia 1072 1.25 Flora S 15.47 11.61 LCDB  · List
12. 4524 Barklajdetolli 1069 1.26 Flora S 7.14 12.90 LCDB  · List
13. 2675 Tolkien 1060 0.75 2+ Flora S 9.85 12.20 LCDB  · List
14. (219774) 2001 YY145 1007.7 0.86 MBA (inner) S 1.54 16.43 LCDB  · List

Fastest rotators

This list contains the fastest-rotating minor planets with a period of less than 100 seconds, or 0.027 hours. Bodies with a highly uncertain period, having a quality of less than 2, are highlighted in dark-grey. The fastest rotating bodies are all unnumbered near-Earth objects (NEOs) with a diameter of less than 100 meters (see table).

Among the numbered minor planets with an unambiguous period solution are (459872) 2014 EK24, a 60-meter sized stony NEO with a period of 352 seconds, as well as (335433) 2005 UW163 and (60716) 2000 GD65, two main-belt asteroids, with a diameter of 0.86 and 2.25 kilometers and a period of 1.29 and 1.95 hours, respectively (see full list).

# Minor
planet
designation
Rotation period Δmag Quality
(U)
Orbit or
family
Spectral
type
Diameter
(km)
Abs. mag
(H)
Refs
(seconds) (hours)
1. 2014 RC 16 0.004389 0.10 n.a. NEO S 0.012 26.80 LCDB  · MPC
2. 2015 SV6 18 0.00490 0.74 NEO S 0.009 27.70 LCDB  · MPC
3. 2010 JL88 25 0.0068295 0.52 NEO S 0.013 26.80 LCDB  · MPC
4. 2017 EK 30 0.0083 0.30 NEO S 0.045 24.10 LCDB  · MPC
5. 2010 WA 31 0.0085799 0.22 NEO S 0.003 30.00 LCDB  · MPC
6. 2017 UK8 31 0.0086309 1.30 NEO S 0.007 28.20 LCDB  · MPC
7. 2016 GE1 34 0.009438 0.13 NEO S 0.014 26.60 LCDB  · MPC
8. 2008 HJ 43 0.01185 0.80 3− NEO S 0.021 25.80 LCDB  · MPC
9. 2009 TM8 43 0.012 n.a. NEO S 0.006 28.40 LCDB  · MPC
10. 2015 SU 46 0.0127 0.20 2− NEO S 0.025 25.40 LCDB  · MPC
11. 2010 SK13 52 0.0144 n.a. NEO S 0.01 27.40 LCDB  · MPC
12. 2009 BF2 57 0.01593 0.80 NEO S 0.02 25.90 LCDB  · MPC
13. 2016 GS2 66 0.0182725 0.06 NEO S 0.075 23.00 LCDB  · MPC
14. 2010 TG19 70 0.0193935 1.10 NEO S 0.049 23.90 LCDB  · MPC
15. 2008 WA14 70 0.0195 n.a. NEO S 0.075 23.00 LCDB  · MPC
16. 2007 KE4 77 0.021408 0.38 3− NEO S 0.027 25.20 LCDB  · MPC
17. 2000 DO8 78 0.0217 1.39 NEO S 0.037 24.54 LCDB  · MPC
18. 2014 GQ17 78 0.0217 0.08 2− NEO S 0.011 27.10 LCDB  · MPC
19. 2014 TV 79 0.02190 0.32 NEO S 0.039 24.40 LCDB  · MPC
20. 2000 WH10 80 0.02221 0.66 3− NEO S 0.094 22.50 LCDB  · MPC
21. 2012 HG2 82 0.0227 n.a. NEO S 0.012 27.00 LCDB  · MPC
22. 2010 TD54 83 0.0229317 0.92 NEO S 0.005 28.90 LCDB  · MPC
23. 2010 TS19 83 0.023 n.a. NEO S 0.022 25.70 LCDB  · MPC
24. 2009 UD 84 0.023246 0.66 2+ NEO S 0.011 27.20 LCDB  · MPC
25. 2014 WB366 86 0.0238 0.46 2+ NEO S 0.033 24.80 LCDB  · MPC
26. 2015 RF36 90 0.025 0.15 NEO S 0.062 23.40 LCDB  · MPC
27. 2015 AK45 93 0.0258 0.24 NEO S 0.016 26.40 LCDB  · MPC
28. 2010 XE11 96 0.0265846 0.50 NEO S 0.075 23.00 LCDB  · MPC
29. 2000 UK11 96 0.026599 0.28 NEO S 0.026 25.30 LCDB  · MPC
30. 2016 RB1 96 0.02674 0.18 2+ NEO S 0.007 28.30 LCDB  · MPC
31. 2015 CM 96 0.0268 0.53 3− NEO S 0.018 26.10 LCDB  · MPC
32. 2008 TC3 97 0.0269409 1.02 NEO F 0.004 30.90 LCDB  · MPC

Orbital characteristics

Retrograde

Minor planets with orbital inclinations greater than 90° (the greatest possible is 180°) orbit in a retrograde direction. As of March 2018, of the near-800,000 minor planets known, there are only 99 known retrograde minor planets (0.01% of total minor planets known). In comparison, there are over 2,000 comets with retrograde orbits. This makes retrograde minor planets the rarest group of all. High-inclination asteroids are either Mars-crossers (possibly in the process of being ejected from the Solar System) or damocloids. Some of these are temporarily captured in retrograde resonance with the gas giants.

Minor planet
designation
Inclination (°) First observed/
Discovery date
Condition code Obs. × arc[2] Comment Refs
2017 UX51 90.517° October 27, 2017 0 79254 MPC
2018 SQ13 90.973° September 21, 2018 17407 MPC
2015 TN178 91.093° October 8, 2015 0 38805 MPC
2005 SB223 91.294° September 30, 2005 1 12200 Has a well-determined orbit MPC
2014 MH55 91.486° June 29, 2014 6 96 MPC
2010 EQ169 91.607° March 8, 2010 ? 15 MPC
2015 RK245 91.616° September 13, 2015 0 184680 MPC
2016 TK2 92.336° July 13, 2016 2 6075 MPC
(518151) 2016 FH13 93.551° March 29, 2016 0 91561 MPC
2014 PP69 93.652° August 5, 2014 1 8085 MPC
2015 BH311 94.160° January 20, 2015 ? 39 MPC
2017 OX68 94.748° July 26, 2017 8720 MPC
2014 JJ57 95.924° May 9, 2014 0 95710 MPC
2013 HS150 97.434° April 16, 2013 220 MPC
2013 BL76 98.592° January 20, 2013 46716 Has a semi-major axis of 1254 AU, giving it the third largest semi-major axis of any known minor planet MPC
2010 GW147 99.835° April 14, 2010 0 97888 MPC
2011 MM4 100.482° June 24, 2011 0 364936 MPC
2017 NM2 101.295° July 6, 2017 1 28014 MPC
2014 XS3 101.381° December 8, 2014 0 23544 MPC
2013 BN27 101.828° January 17, 2013 1400 MPC
(528219) 2008 KV42 103.396° May 31, 2008 1 198550 MPC
(342842) 2008 YB3 105.058° December 18, 2008 0 1608789 MPC
2016 PN66 105.113° August 14, 2016 0 63879 MPC
2010 GW64 105.226° April 6, 2010 0 9072 MPC
2012 YO6 106.883° December 22, 2012 3 6674 MPC
2009 DD47 107.449° February 27, 2009 ? 1584 MPC
2017 UR52 108.218° October 29, 2017 1638 MPC
2007 VW266 108.328° November 12, 2007 5 2204 MPC
2011 SP25 109.074° September 20, 2011 3 3654 MPC
(471325) 2011 KT19 110.104° May 31, 2011 1 234828 MPC
2005 TJ50 110.226° October 5, 2005 5 1488 MPC
2011 OR17 110.504° May 21, 2010 71808 MPC
2005 VX3 112.224° November 1, 2005 4212 Semi-major axis of 837AU, but has a somewhat short 81-day observation arc for such a large orbit MPC
2017 SV13 113.243° September 17, 2017 4 2160 MPC
2016 LS 114.338° June 27, 2015 0 26688 MPC
2015 YY18 118.243° December 29, 2015 0 33454 MPC
2010 OM101 118.797° July 28, 2010 2 3535 MPC
(65407) 2002 RP120 118.970° September 4, 2002 0 648554 This outer-planet crosser is a damocloid and SDO. MPC
2010 PO58 121.179° August 5, 2010 8 120 MPC
2010 LG61 123.886° June 2, 2010 7 935 MPC
(468861) 2013 LU28 125.356° June 8, 2013 0 238336 MPC
2014 SQ339 128.506° September 29, 2014 4 1334 MPC
2000 DG8 129.246° February 25, 2000 2 42408 A damocloid and SDO. Crosses all the outer planets except Neptune. Came within 0.03 AU of Ceres in 1930. MPC
2016 CO264 129.820° February 14, 2016 0 23800 MPC
2013 NS11 130.333° July 5, 2013 0 143510 MPC
2005 NP82 130.505° July 6, 2005 1 662673 MPC
2006 RG1 133.437° September 1, 2006 4 750 Has an orbit with a data arc of 25 days MPC
2012 YE8 136.049° December 21, 2012 5 1066 MPC
2017 AX13 137.204° January 2, 2017 3 1785 MPC
2009 QY6 137.668° August 17, 2009 1 43990 MPC
2016 TP93 138.330° October 9, 2016 ? 704 MPC
2016 YB13 139.682° December 23, 2016 1 50718 MPC
2019 EJ3 139.758° March 4, 2019 ? 576 MPC
2015 AO44 139.934° November 27, 2014 0 115821 MPC
(336756) 2010 NV1 140.773° July 1, 2010 0 330022 Perihelion at 9.4 AU, only 2008 KV42 has perihelion further out (154-day data arc) MPC
2011 WS41 141.645° November 24, 2011 ? 108 MPC
2010 OR1 143.912° January 25, 2010 1 35032 MPC
2010 BK118 143.914° January 30, 2010 374596 Semi-major axis of 408 AU with perihelion at 6.1 AU in April 2012 (1 year data arc) MPC
(523797) 2016 NM56 144.034° November 1, 2012 0 227052 MPC
2017 UW51 144.203° October 23, 2017 68442 MPC
2010 CG55 146.262° February 15, 2010 0 129000 MPC
2012 HD2 146.883° April 18, 2012 0 31408 MPC
2009 YS6 147.767° December 17, 2009 0 195734 MPC
2016 VY17 148.419° November 5, 2016 0 108624 MPC
2017 QO33 148.826° August 16, 2017 1 45360 MPC
2006 EX52 150.148° March 5, 2006 0 62310 q=2.58 AU and period=274 yr MPC
1999 LE31 151.816° June 12, 1999 2 905838 A damocloid, Jupiter- and Saturn-crossing minor planet. MPC
2017 SN33 152.044° September 19, 2017 7590 MPC
2018 WB1 152.136° November 19, 2018 7 351 MPC
2016 JK24 152.326° March 3, 2016 0 181965 MPC
2017 CW32 152.438° February 2, 2017 51500 MPC
343158 Marsyas 154.367° April 29, 2009 0 771834 NEO that sometimes has the highest relative velocity to Earth (79 km/s) of known objects that come within 0.5 AU of Earth. However, the relative velocity at 1 AU from the sun is less than 72 km/s. MPC
2013 LD16 154.736° June 6, 2013 0 14148 MPC
2021 TH165 154.924° October 11, 2021 3 2510 Retrograde trans-Neptunian object close to a 3:–2 mean-motion orbital resonance with Neptune. MPC
2015 FK37 155.842° March 20, 2015 ? 748 MPC
2010 EB46 156.376° March 12, 2010 4 2460 MPC
2015 XR384 157.514° December 9, 2015 2 5580 MPC
2000 HE46 158.535° April 29, 2000 2 25960 MPC
2015 XX351 159.092° December 9, 2015 0 21120 MPC
2012 TL139 160.027° October 9, 2012 3 900 MPC
2019 CR 160.341° February 4, 2019 1 36993 MPC
20461 Dioretsa 160.428° June 8, 1999 0 256779 most highly inclined known minor planet from June 8, 1999, to July 13, 2004 MPC
2018 DO4 160.475° February 25, 2018 0 261726 MPC
2017 JB6 160.735° May 4, 2017 ? 6844 MPC
(523800) 2017 KZ31 161.695° June 23, 2015 0 119280 MPC
514107 Kaʻepaokaʻawela 163.022° November 26, 2014 0 74898 A Jupiter co-orbital. First known example of a retrograde co-orbital asteroid with any of the planets. Might have an interstellar origin. MPC
Src
2006 RJ2 164.601° September 14, 2006 5 2849 MPC
2006 BZ8 165.311° January 23, 2006 0 207459 MPC
2004 NN8 165.525° July 13, 2004 23944 Came within 0.80 AU of Saturn on 2007-Jun-05, most highly inclined known minor planet from 2004/07/13-2005/11/01 MPC
(459870) 2014 AT28 165.558° November 26, 2013 0 186598 MPC
2016 DF2 167.030° February 28, 2016 ? 26 MPC
(330759) 2008 SO218 170.324° September 30, 2008 0 1058616 MPC
2014 UV114 170.569° October 26, 2014 ? 34 MPC
2014 CW14 170.764° February 10, 2014 4 1938 MPC
2018 TL6 170.919° October 5, 2018 7 270 MPC
2016 EJ203 170.988° March 11, 2016 0 18081 MPC
2006 LM1 172.138° June 3, 2006 ? 48 Has a data arc of only 2 days, but has a very high inclination MPC
(434620) 2005 VD 172.872° November 1, 2005 0 228965 most highly inclined known minor planet from November 1, 2005, to June 1, 2013 MPC
2013 LA2 175.095° June 1, 2013 6 1075 Has the highest inclination of any known minor planet MPC

^ the value given when the number of observations is multiplied by the observation arc; larger values are generally better than smaller values depending on residuals.

Highly inclined

Minor planet designation Inclination Discovery date Comment Refs
1 Ceres 10.593° January 1, 1801 most highly inclined known minor planet from January 1, 1801, to March 28, 1802 MPC
2 Pallas 34.841° March 28, 1802 most highly inclined known minor planet from March 28, 1802, to October 31, 1920 MPC
944 Hidalgo 42.525° October 31, 1920 most highly inclined known minor planet from October 31, 1920, to May 22, 1950 MPC
1373 Cincinnati 38.949° August 30, 1935 First main-belt asteroid discovered to have an inclination greater than 2 Pallas. Most highly inclined known main-belt asteroid from August 30, 1935, to June 14, 1980 MPC
1580 Betulia 52.083° May 22, 1950 most highly inclined known minor planet from May 22, 1950, to July 4, 1973 MPC
2938 Hopi 41.436° June 14, 1980 Most highly inclined known main-belt asteroid from June 14, 1980, to September 20, 2000 MPC
(5496) 1973 NA 67.999° July 4, 1973 An Apollo asteroid, Mars-crosser and +1 km NEO; most highly inclined known minor planet from 4 July 1973 to 8 August 1999. MPC
(22653) 1998 QW2 45.794° August 17, 1998 Most highly inclined known main-belt asteroid from August 17, 1998, to October 19, 1998 MPC
(88043) 2000 UE110 51.998° October 29, 2000 First main-belt asteroid discovered and numbered to have an inclination greater than 50°. MPC
(138925) 2001 AU43 72.132° January 4, 2001 A Mars-crosser and near-Earth object. MPC
(127546) 2002 XU93 77.904° December 4, 2002 A damocloid and SDO. It is almost a Uranus outer-grazer. MPC
(196256) 2003 EH1 70.790° March 6, 2003 A Mars-crosser, near-Earth object and Jupiter inner-grazer. MPC
1998 UQ1 64.281° October 19, 1998 Most highly inclined known main-belt asteroid from 1998/10/19-2007/11/01 MPC
(467372) 2004 LG 70.725° June 9, 2004 A Mercury- through Mars-crosser and near-Earth object. MPC
2007 VR6 68.659° November 1, 2007 Most highly inclined known main-belt asteroid from November 1, 2007, to September 26, 2008 MPC
2008 SB85 74.247° September 26, 2008 Most highly inclined known main-belt asteroid from September 26, 2008, to March 8, 2010[citation needed] MPC
2010 EQ169 91.606° March 8, 2010 Most highly inclined known main-belt asteroid (orbit is not well-known)[citation needed] MPC

Trojans

Record-setting close approaches to Earth

Viewed in detail

Spacecraft targets

Name Diameter
(km)
Discovered Spacecraft Year(s) Closest
approach
(km)
Closest
approach
(asteroid radii)
Notes Landmark(s)
1 Ceres 939.4 January 1, 1801 Dawn 2014–present 375 0.80 Dawn took its first "close up" picture of Ceres in December 2014, and entered orbit in March 2015 First likely dwarf planet visited by a spacecraft, largest asteroid visited by a spacecraft
4 Vesta 525.4 March 29, 1807 Dawn 2011–2012 210 0.76 Dawn broke orbit on 5 September 2012 and headed to Ceres, where it arrived in March 2015 First "big four" asteroid visited by a spacecraft, largest asteroid visited by a spacecraft at the time
21 Lutetia 120×100×80 November 15, 1852 Rosetta 2010 3,162 64.9 Flyby on 10 July 2010 Largest asteroid visited by a spacecraft at the time
243 Ida 56×24×21 September 29, 1884 Galileo 1993 2,390 152 Flyby; discovered Dactyl First asteroid with a moon visited by a spacecraft, largest asteroid visited by spacecraft at the time
253 Mathilde 66×48×46 November 12, 1885 NEAR Shoemaker 1997 1,212 49.5 Flyby Largest asteroid visited by a spacecraft at the time
433 Eros 13×13×33 August 13, 1898 NEAR Shoemaker 1998–2001 0 0 1998 flyby; 2000 orbited (first asteroid studied from orbit); 2001 landing First asteroid landing, first asteroid orbited by a spacecraft, first near-Earth asteroid (NEA) visited by a spacecraft
951 Gaspra 18.2×10.5×8.9 July 30, 1916 Galileo 1991 1,600 262 Flyby first asteroid visited by a spacecraft
2867 Šteins 4.6 November 4, 1969 Rosetta 2008 800 302 Flyby First asteroid visited by the ESA
4179 Toutatis 4.5×~2 February 10, 1934 Chang'e 2 2012 3.2 0.70 Flyby Closest asteroid flyby, first asteroid visited by China
5535 Annefrank 4.0 March 23, 1942 Stardust 2002 3,079 1230 Flyby
9969 Braille 2.2×0.6 May 27, 1992 Deep Space 1 1999 26 12.7 Flyby; followed by flyby of Comet Borrelly
25143 Itokawa 0.5×0.3×0.2 September 26, 1998 Hayabusa 2005 0 0 Landed; returned dust samples to Earth First asteroid with returned samples, smallest asteroid visited by a spacecraft, first asteroid visited by a non-NASA spacecraft
162173 Ryugu 1.0 May 10, 1999 Hayabusa2 2018–2019 0 0 Multiple landers/rovers, sample return First rovers on an asteroid
101955 Bennu 0.492 September 11, 1999 OSIRIS-REx 2018–2021 0 0 Sample return Smallest asteroid orbited, potentially hazardous object
65803 Didymos 0.492 September 11, 1999 DART/LICIACube 2022 1.2 3.2 Impactor/flyby Moon Dimorphos impacted by DART spacecraft, flown by LICIACube
152830 Dinkinesh 0.790 October 15, 1999 Lucy 2023 425 1076 Flyby; first of 8 planned asteroid flybys Smallest main-belt asteroid visited to date; discovered first contact binary satellite Selam

Surface resolved by telescope or lightcurve

Multiple systems resolved by telescope

Comet-like activity

Disintegration

Timeline

Landmark asteroids

Name Diameter (km) Discovered Comment
1 Ceres 939 January 1, 1801 First asteroid discovered
5 Astraea 117 December 8, 1845 First asteroid discovered after original four (38 years later)
20 Massalia 136 September 19, 1852 First asteroid named after city
45 Eugenia 202 June 27, 1857 First asteroid named after living person
87 Sylvia 261 May 16, 1866 First asteroid known to have more than one moon (determined in 2005)
90 Antiope 80×80 October 1, 1866 Double asteroid with two nearly equal components; its double nature was discovered using adaptive optics in 2000
92 Undina 126 1867 July 7 Created in one of the largest asteroid-on-asteroid collisions of the past 100 million years
216 Kleopatra 217×94 April 10, 1880 Metallic asteroid with "ham-bone" shape and 2 satellites
243 Ida 56×24×21 September 29, 1884 First asteroid known to have a moon (determined in 1994)
243 Ida I Dactyl 1.4 February 17, 1994 Moon of 243 Ida, first confirmed satellite of an asteroid
279 Thule 127 October 25, 1888 Orbits in the asteroid belt's outermost edge in a 3:4 orbital resonance with Jupiter
288 Glauke 32 February 20, 1890 Exceptionally slow rotation period of about 1200 hours (2 months)
323 Brucia 36 December 22, 1891 First asteroid discovered by means of astrophotography rather than visual observation
433 Eros 13×13×33 August 13, 1898 First near-Earth asteroid discovered and the second largest; first asteroid to be detected by radar; first asteroid orbited and landed upon
482 Petrina 23.3 March 3, 1902 First asteroid named after dog
490 Veritas 115 September 3, 1902 Created in one of the largest asteroid-on-asteroid collisions of the past 100 million years
588 Achilles 135.5 February 22, 1906 First Jupiter trojan discovered
624 Hektor 370×195 February 10, 1907 Largest Jupiter trojan discovered
719 Albert 2.4 October 3, 1911 Last numbered asteroid to be lost then recovered
935 Clivia 6.4 September 7, 1920 First asteroid named after flower
1090 Sumida 13 February 20, 1928 Lowest numbered asteroid with no English Wikipedia entry
1125 China 27 October 30, 1957 First asteroid discovery to be credited to an institution rather than a person
1566 Icarus 1.4 June 27, 1949 First Mercury crosser discovered
1902 Shaposhnikov 97 April 18, 1972 Last ~100+ km in diameter asteroid discovered
2309 Mr. Spock 21.3 August 16, 1971 First asteroid named after cat
3200 Phaethon 5 October 11, 1983 First asteroid discovered from space; source of Geminids meteor shower.
3753 Cruithne 5 October 10, 1986 Unusual Earth-associated orbit
4179 Toutatis 4.5×2.4×1.9 January 4, 1989 Closely approached Earth on September 29, 2004
4769 Castalia 1.8×0.8 August 9, 1989 First asteroid to be radar-imaged in sufficient detail for 3D modeling
5261 Eureka ~2–4 June 20, 1990 First Mars trojan (Lagrangian point L5) discovered
11885 Summanus 1.3 September 25, 1990 First automated discovery of a near-Earth object (NEO)
(29075) 1950 DA 1.1 February 23, 1950 Will approach Earth very closely in 2880, collision unlikely (1 in 8,300 or 0.012%)
69230 Hermes 0.3 October 28, 1937 Named but not numbered until its recovery in 2003 (65 years later)
99942 Apophis 0.3 June 19, 2004 First asteroid to rank greater than one on the Torino Scale (it was ranked at 2, then 4; now down to 0). Previously better known by its provisional designation 2004 MN4.
(433953) 1997 XR2 0.23 December 4, 1997 First asteroid to rank greater than zero on the impact-risk Torino Scale (it was ranked 1; now at 0)
1998 KY26 0.030 June 2, 1998 Approached within 800,000 km of Earth
2002 AA29 0.1 January 9, 2002 Unusual Earth-associated orbit
2004 FH 0.030 March 15, 2004 Discovered before it approached within 43,000 km of Earth on March 18, 2004.
2008 TC3 ~0.003 October 6, 2008 First Earth-impactor to be spotted before impact (on October 7, 2008)
2010 TK7 ~0.3 October 2010 First Earth trojan to be discovered
2014 RC ~0.017 September 1, 2014 Asteroid with fastest rotation: 16.2 seconds

Numbered minor planets that are also comets

Name Cometary name Comment
2060 Chiron 95P/Chiron First centaur discovered in 1977, later identified to exhibit cometary behaviour. Also one of two minor planets known to have a ring system
4015 Wilson–Harrington 107P/Wilson–Harrington In 1992, it was realized that asteroid 1979 VA's orbit matched it with the positions of the lost comet Wilson–Harrington (1949 III)
7968 Elst–Pizarro 133P/Elst–Pizarro Discovered in 1996 as a comet, but orbitally matched to asteroid 1979 OW7
60558 Echeclus 174P/Echeclus Centaur discovered in 2000, comet designation assigned in 2006
118401 LINEAR 176P/LINEAR (LINEAR 52) Main-belt cometasteroid discovered to have a coma on November 26, 2005

The above table lists only numbered asteroids that are also comets. Note there are several cases where a non-numbered minor planets turned out to be a comet, e.g. C/2001 OG108 (LONEOS), which was provisionally designated 2001 OG108.

Minor planets that were misnamed and renamed

In earlier times, before the modern numbering and naming rules were in effect, asteroids were sometimes given numbers and names before their orbits were precisely known. And in a few cases duplicate names were given to the same object (with modern use of computers to calculate and compare orbits with old recorded positions, this type of error no longer occurs). This led to a few cases where asteroids had to be renamed.

Minor planet name Description
330 Adalberta An object discovered March 18, 1892, by Max Wolf with provisional designation "1892 X" was named 330 Adalberta, but was lost and never recovered. In 1982 it was determined that the observations leading to the designation of 1892 X were stars, and the object never existed. The name and number 330 Adalberta was then reused for another asteroid discovered by Max Wolf on February 2, 1910, which had the provisional designation A910 CB.
525 Adelaide and 1171 Rusthawelia The object A904 EB discovered March 14, 1904, by Max Wolf was named 525 Adelaide and was subsequently lost. Later, the object 1930 TA discovered October 3, 1930, by Sylvain Arend was named 1171 Rusthawelia. In those pre-computer days, it was not realized until 1958 that these were one and the same object. The name Rusthawelia was kept (and discovery credited to Arend); the name 525 Adelaide was reused for the object 1908 EKa discovered October 21, 1908, by Joel Hastings Metcalf.
715 Transvaalia and 933 Susi The object 1911 LX discovered April 22, 1911, by H. E. Wood was named 715 Transvaalia. On April 23, 1920, the object 1920 GZ was discovered and named 933 Susi. In 1928 it was realized that these were one and the same object. The name Transvaalia was kept, and the name and number 933 Susi was reused for the object 1927 CH discovered February 10, 1927, by Karl Reinmuth.
864 Aase and 1078 Mentha The object A917 CB discovered February 13, 1917, by Max Wolf was named 864 Aase, and the object 1926 XB discovered December 7, 1926, by Karl Reinmuth was named 1078 Mentha. In 1958 it was discovered that these were one and the same object. In 1974, this was resolved by keeping the name 1078 Mentha and reusing the name and number 864 Aase for the object 1921 KE, discovered September 30, 1921, by Karl Reinmuth.
1095 Tulipa and 1449 Virtanen The object 1928 DC discovered February 24, 1928, by Karl Reinmuth was named 1095 Tulipa, and the object 1938 DO discovered February 20, 1938, by Yrjö Väisälä was named 1449 Virtanen. In 1966 it was discovered that these were one and the same object. The name 1449 Virtanen was kept and the name and number 1095 Tulipa was reused for the object 1926 GS discovered April 14, 1926, by Karl Reinmuth.
1125 China and 3789 Zhongguo The object 1928 UF discovered October 25, 1928, by Zhang Yuzhe (Y. C. Chang) was named 1125 China, and was later lost. Later, the object 1957 UN1 was discovered on October 30, 1957, at Purple Mountain Observatory and was initially incorrectly believed to be the rediscovery of the object 1928 UF. The name and number 1125 China were then reused for the object 1957 UN1, and 1928 UF remained lost. In 1986, the object 1986 QK1 was discovered and proved to be the real rediscovery of 1928 UF. This object was given the new number and name 3789 Zhongguo. Note Zhongguo is the Mandarin Chinese word for "China", in pinyin transliteration.
Asteroid 1317 and 787 Moskva The object 1914 UQ discovered April 20, 1914, by G. N. Neujmin was named 787 Moskva (and retains that name to this day). The object 1934 FD discovered on March 19, 1934, by C. Jackson was given the sequence number 1317. In 1938, G. N. Neujmin found that asteroid 1317 and 787 Moskva were one and the same object. The sequence number 1317 was later reused for the object 1935 RC discovered on September 1, 1935, by Karl Reinmuth; that object is now known as 1317 Silvretta.

Landmark names

Asteroids were originally named after female mythological figures. Over time the rules loosened.

First asteroid with non-Classical and non-Latinized name: 64 Angelina (in honor of a research station)

First asteroid with a non-feminine name: 139 Juewa (ambiguous) or 141 Lumen

First asteroid with a non-feminized man's name: 903 Nealley

Lowest-numbered unnamed asteroid (As of 2021): (4596) 1981 QB

Landmark numbers

Many landmark numbers had specially chosen names for asteroids, and there was some debate about whether Pluto should have received number 10000, for example. This list includes some non-asteroids.

Powers of 10x1

Powers of 10x2

Powers of 10x3

Powers of 10x4

Powers of 10x5

Powers of 10x6

Powers of 10x7

Powers of 10x8

Powers 10x9

Repeated 1

Repeated 2

Repeated 3

Repeated 4

Repeated 5

Repeated 6

Repeated 7

Repeated 8

Repeated 9

See also

Books

  • Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, 5th ed.: Prepared on Behalf of Commission 20 Under the Auspices of the International Astronomical Union, Lutz D. Schmadel, ISBN 3-540-00238-3

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