Mathilde

Mathilde — asteroid, explore its interactive 3D model in Cosmoscope.

Explore Mathilde in a live 3D Solar System. Follow its calculated motion and inspect real astronomical data, distances and orbital facts.

A coal-dark rubble pile scarred by giant craters up to 33 km wide. NEAR Shoemaker flew past in 1997 and found it so porous that huge impacts crushed into it instead of shattering it.

Diameter

~53 km

Discovered

1885 — Johann Palisa, Vienna

Visited

NEAR Shoemaker flyby, 27 Jun 1997

Day

17.4 Earth days — one of the slowest spins known

Density

1.3 g/cm³ — a porous rubble pile

Shape

Illustrative rock — NEAR mapped only part of it

Explore Mathilde in 3D

Cosmoscope places Mathilde in the Solar System using astronomical ephemeris or orbital elements, updated for the simulation time. Explore its calculated motion, distance and orbital facts in the interactive 3D view. Accuracy depends on the orbital model and its valid time range.