This object moves — fetching its current position…
Score breakdown
· 5 badges
32 pts · Uncommon
Uncommon34 pts → Rare
Metal-rich asteroid+14
Notably bright (low H)+8
Has a proper name+8
Asteroid+1
Main-belt asteroid+1
Total score32
2 more points to reach Rare.
Badges
🪨Asteroid· +1
💡Notably bright (low H)· +8
🏷️Has a proper name· +8
🥌Main-belt asteroid· +1
⚙️Metal-rich asteroid· +14
✨ Trivia
What it actually is
🛸Its orbit family. A main-belt asteroid, one of millions circling between Mars and Jupiter. Despite the films, the belt is so empty that every spacecraft sent through it has crossed without aiming for anything.
🌞Closest approach. At its nearest it comes within 2.05 AU of the Sun — inside the orbit of Jupiter.
🔁One lap. A single orbit around the Sun takes it about 3.7 years.
🥏How far it roams. Its orbit swings between 2.05 and 2.71 AU from the Sun.
Sense of scale
🧱Sense of scale. In everyday terms it is roughly 4.6× the height of Mount Everest.
🚶Walk around it. Walking its equator at a steady pace, eight hours a day, would take about 3.2 days.
Standing on it
🥶Sunlight there. Even at its closest the sunlight is only about 24% as strong as Earth's.
By the numbers
📐Size. Roughly 41 km across.
Properties
albedo
0.23
aphelion au
2.71
designation
161
diameter km
40.992
eccentricity
0.1381
full name
161 Athor (A876 HA)
h mag
9.29
inclination
9.05
mean motion deg day
0.2686
moid au
1.06
name
Athor
named
yes
orbit class
MBA
perihelion au
2.051
rotation period h
7.28
semi major au
2.379
spec taxonomy
Xc
spect
Xc
About Athor
Athor is an uncommon asteroid. It has spectral type Xc and swings within 2.051 AU of the Sun at perihelion.
A main-belt asteroid, one of millions circling between Mars and Jupiter. Despite the films, the belt is so empty that every spacecraft sent through it has crossed without aiming for anything.
How to see it
Like any astronomical target, Athor is best seen from a dark site away from city lights, and when it is above the horizon depends on your latitude and the time of year. Because it moves against the background stars, the live position panel on this page tracks where it is right now. The visibility panel above works out tonight's viewing window for your saved location.
Why Athor is an uncommon asteroid
Athor scores 32 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 2 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 5 science badges — Asteroid, Notably bright (low H), Has a proper name, Main-belt asteroid and Metal-rich asteroid — each earned for a real, measurable property of the object. Rarity on Spacedle is never random: the more remarkable an object's astrophysics, the more badges it collects, the higher it scores, and the rarer it ranks.