1 day / second
0.5 AU
253 Mathilde
Asteroid
A dark, slow-rotating C-type asteroid measuring 53 kilometers across that was visited by the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft in 1997, revealing a heavily cratered surface with at least five craters larger than 20 kilometers in diameter.
Key Facts
orbital regime | Asteroid Belt |
learn more | Wikipedia |
mass | 1.0330e+17 kg |
radius | 26.4 km |
hill radius | 7,534.56 km |
semi-major axis | 2.648 AU |
eccentricity | 0.265 |
inclination | 6.743º |
longitude of the ascending node | 179.589º |
argument of periapsis | 157.396º |
orbital period | 4.31 years |
surface gravity | 0.001 g |
discovery date | November 12, 1885 |
discovered by | Johann Palisa at Vienna Observatory |
name origins | Named after Mathilde Loewy |
dimensions | 52.8 km diameter |
albedo | 0.0436 |
material composition | C-type asteroid |
density | 1.3 g/cm³ |
Spacecraft Visits
NEAR Shoemaker
Flyby
Launched in 1996, visited in 1997
NEAR Shoemaker made its closest approach to 253 Mathilde on June 27, 1997, passing within 1,200 kilometers of the dark, carbon-rich asteroid while capturing over 500 images and revealing its heavily cratered surface.
