Description and Classification
944 Hidalgo is a centaur because it has a semi-major axis between Jupiter's and Neptune's. Despite this, the Minor Planet Center (MPC) does not list it as a centaur. Hidalgo has traditionally been considered an asteroid because it was discovered long before the identification of centaurs as a distinct class.
With a high eccentricity of 0.66, its perihelion of 1.95 AU takes it to the inner edge of the asteroid belt, while its aphelion of 9.54 AU takes it right out to Saturn's orbit, a characteristic normally associated with Saturn's family of comets. Some astronomers therefore suspect that it was once a comet. Strictly speaking, Hidalgo is a Saturn-grazer rather than a Saturn-crosser as its aphelion does not clear Saturn's. Hidalgo's severe orbital inclination of 43° is suspected to be the result of a close encounter with Jupiter. Even as recently as 1922, Hidalgo passed within 0.89AU of the powerful influence of Jupiter. Its diameter is estimated to be 38 km.
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