Atalante

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Main-belt Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the U.S. state of Connecticut (132.84 km diameter)
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

Atalante is a large asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter in the main portion of the asteroid belt. NASA JPL has not classified Atalante as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

Atalante orbits the sun every 1,660 days (4.54 years), coming as close as 1.90 AU and reaching as far as 3.59 AU from the sun. Atalante is about 132.8 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the U.S. state of Connecticut.

The rotation of Atalante has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 9.93 hours.

Atalante's spectral type C (Tholen) / None (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain water, iron, nickel, cobalt, nitrogen, and ammonia.

No Close Approaches

Atalante's orbit is 0.96 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is a very wide berth between this asteroid and Earth at all times.

Orbital simulations conducted by NASA JPL's CNEOS do not show any close approaches to Earth.

Images and Observations

Atalante's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 8, 1866. It was last officially observed on July 2, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 3,063 observations used to determine its orbit.

Scientists have been able to determine this object's shape:

View asteroid Atalante in 3D.

Accessibility and Exploration

This asteroid is not considered a viable target for human exploration by the NHATS study.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of Atalante:

• 38 Leda (A856 AA)
• 71 Niobe (A861 PA)
• 125 Liberatrix (A872 RA)

References

• JPL Small Body Database
• Mission Design
• Sky Finder Chart

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Atalante is indicated by a ◯ pink circle. Note that the object may not be in your current field of view. Use the controls below to adjust position, location, and time.