2 Pallas

2 Pallas is a large, roughly spherical asteroid in the main belt, discovered by Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers in 1802. Its high orbital inclination and unusual surface chemistry distinguish it from most large asteroids.

Asteroid belt: The region between Mars and Jupiter containing most of the Solar System’s asteroids. Pallas follows an unusually inclined orbit through this population of rocky bodies.
Orbital inclination: The angle between an orbit’s plane and a chosen reference plane. Pallas’s orbit is steeply tilted relative to the ecliptic and most major asteroids.
Pallas (asteroid): The asteroid 2 Pallas, a large main-belt body discovered in 1802. The designation distinguishes the asteroid from other uses of the name Pallas.
Differentiation (planetary science): The separation of a planetary body into layers of different composition and density. Pallas appears less thoroughly differentiated than Vesta despite its substantial size.
Asteroid: A small Solar System body that orbits the Sun and is neither a planet nor a comet. Pallas is one of the largest objects classified as an asteroid.
Orbital resonance: A gravitational relationship in which orbiting bodies’ periods form a ratio of small integers. Resonances with Jupiter help shape the dynamical structure around Pallas’s orbit.
Ceres (dwarf planet): The largest object in the asteroid belt and the only dwarf planet located there. Ceres is round and belt-dwelling like Pallas, but has a lower-inclination orbit and different internal evolution.
Hydrostatic equilibrium: A state in which gravity balances internal pressure, shaping a body toward a rounded form. Pallas’s near-round shape raises questions about how much its interior relaxed under gravity.
Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers: A German astronomer who discovered Pallas and Vesta. He discovered Pallas in 1802 while searching for asteroids.
Pallas family: A grouping of asteroids with orbital properties thought to trace back to a shared parent body. Nearby objects with Pallas-like orbits may preserve evidence of fragmentation from the asteroid.

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3 JunoCompared with: Pallas shares Juno’s early discovery history but follows a markedly different orbit.