Hidalgo |
Asteroid 944, diameter 40-60 km, discovered in 1920 by Walter Baade. Its highly elliptical orbit takes it between the main asteroid belt at 2 AU from the Sun to a distance of 9.7 AU, beyond the orbit of Saturn. The orbit is inclined at the relatively steep angle of 42° to the plane of the solar system. Its unique orbit among asteroids has led some astronomers to speculate that Hidalgo may be a "dead" comet nucleus. |