436 Patricia
436 Patricia (provisional designation 1898 DT) is a large main-belt asteroid, about 58.6 kilometers in diameter, orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter in the main portion of the asteroid belt.1
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Size | Diameter about 58.6 km, larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the U.S. state of Rhode Island1 |
| Orbit | Semimajor axis 3.199 AU; period 2,090 days (5.72 years); perihelion 2.98 AU, aphelion 3.42 AU1 |
| Inclination | 18.51° to the ecliptic; eccentricity 0.071 |
| Rotation | 16.133 ± 0.005 hours, with a lightcurve amplitude of 0.30 ± 0.02 magnitudes2 |
| Surface | Albedo 0.060; absolute magnitude about 10.01 |
| Hazard status | Not a near-Earth object and not classified as potentially hazardous; its orbit stays 2.00 AU from Earth's orbit at the closest point1 |
Discovery and observation record
An observation arc spanning more than a century gives the orbit a low uncertainty, and the Czech asteroid database Planety records 5,737 observations across 46 oppositions for the object.3
Orbit
Patricia circles the Sun every 2,090 days, or 5.72 years, at an average orbital speed of 16.65 km/s.1 Its orbit is nearly circular, with an eccentricity of 0.07, carrying it from 2.98 AU at perihelion to 3.42 AU at aphelion, entirely within the main belt between Mars and Jupiter.1 The orbit is tilted 18.51° to the ecliptic, a moderately high inclination for a main-belt object.1
No threat to Earth. Because the orbit never brings the asteroid near Earth's path, NASA JPL has not classified Patricia as potentially hazardous. At its closest point the two orbits are 2.00 AU apart, and orbital simulations by NASA JPL's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) show no close approaches to Earth.1 The NHATS study, which screens asteroids as possible destinations for human exploration, does not consider Patricia a viable target.1
Rotation and physical properties
Patricia is a slow rotator by asteroid standards: it completes one turn on its axis every 16.13 hours.1 A photometric campaign at the Palmer Divide Observatory in 2002 and early 2003, published by Brian D. Warner in The Minor Planet Bulletin, measured a synodic rotation period of 16.133 ± 0.005 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.30 ± 0.02 magnitudes, consistent with the catalog value.2 The amplitude indicates that the asteroid's brightness varies by about 30% over a rotation, a sign of an elongated or irregular shape rather than a near-spherical body.
The measured diameter is 58.609 km, and the albedo of 0.060 means the surface reflects only 6% of the sunlight that strikes it, a dark surface typical of many large main-belt asteroids.1
Similar orbits
Objects whose orbits share similar characteristics with Patricia's include 154 Bertha, 184 Dejopeja, and 286 Iclea, all main-belt asteroids of comparable orbital character.1
References
- Asteroid Patricia (436 Patricia, A898 RC), Space Reference
- Brian D. Warner (2003). Lightcurve analysis for asteroids 436 Patricia, 3155 Lee, 4254 Kamel, 5940 Feliksobolev, (16558) 1991 VQ2, and (45656) 2000 EE45. The Minor Planet Bulletin 30, 21–24.
- Planetka (436) Patricia, Planety.astro.cz
Topic: Encyclopedia › Places and geography › Extraterrestrial places › Small bodies of the Solar System › Main-belt asteroids and numbered minor planets › Outer-belt asteroids › Asteroids named for women's names
Initially written Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 25, 2026
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