Millions of asteroids
All planets in the solar system have fixed orbits in which they move, and at different distances from the Sun. And the planets are arranged in roughly some order. However, there is no “expected” planet in the space between Mars and Jupiter. In that space are millions of asteroids and planetoids orbiting their orbits. There are many theories as to why there is no planet there. Most likely, the planet Jupiter influenced the formation of a new planet in the asteroid belt. But there are many planetoids in the area that are larger than 100 kilometers, and one of them is the dwarf planet Pallas.
Diameter of Pallas
Pallas is the third largest asteroid in the asteroid belt, just behind Ceres and Vesta. However, not much is known about the asteroid. The diameter of asteroid is approximately 545 kilometers, and it can be compared to Great Britain in size. Although it was discovered in 1802, it remains a great mystery to this day. The orbital period of Pallas is 4.63 years and it is not a potentially dangerous asteroid on Earth. When moving in an orbital orbit, asteroid comes closest to the Sun at 2.14 astronomical units. When it is furthest away, asteroid is at a distance of 3.41 astronomical units from the Sun. Let me remind you – 1 astronomical unit is the distance from the Earth to the Sun, and as you can see – Pallas is not dangerous for the Earth.
Bright spots
Unlike Vesta, Pallas are believed to be water-rich planetoids created by a mixture of dust and ice. Similar to Ceres, bright spots have been discovered on asteroid that may indicate saline areas on the planetoid. The Pallas planetoid was last observed on August 26, 2019.
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