Hidalgo

asteroid

Also known as: 944 Hidalgo

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

June 29, 2026

Quick Summary

The asteroid Hidalgo is a small body that travels in an unstable orbit, crossing the paths of planets. Its orbit extends from the inner edge of the asteroid belt to a point just beyond Saturn's orbit. Small bodies like Hidalgo are natural objects in the solar system, excluding the Sun, planets, dwarf planets, and their moons. They include asteroids, comets, and meteoroids. Asteroids are primarily rocky, while comets are predominantly icy. These small bodies are thought to be remnants from the solar system's formation.1

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

2 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

asteroid
Asteroids in unusual orbits
Another asteroid, (944) Hidalgo, is also thought by some to be a defunct comet because of its unusual orbit. That object, discovered in 1920, travels sunward as near as 2.02 AU, which is at the inner edge of the main asteroid belt, and as far as 9.68 AU,…
Read More
Another asteroid, (944) Hidalgo, is also thought by some to be a defunct comet because of its unusual orbit. That object, discovered in 1920, travels sunward as near as 2.02 AU, which is at the inner edge of the main asteroid belt, and as far as 9.68 AU,…
Read More

small body
Populations
…objects such as the asteroid Hidalgo, which travels between the inner edge of the asteroid belt and a point just beyond the orbit of Saturn. All objects in planet-crossing orbits eventually collide with the Sun or a planet or are permanently ejected from the solar system, although some survive for…
Read More
…objects such as the asteroid Hidalgo, which travels between the inner edge of the asteroid belt and a point just beyond the orbit of Saturn. All objects in planet-crossing orbits eventually collide with the Sun or a planet or are permanently ejected from the solar system, although some survive for…
Read More