MOTHE-DINIZ Asteroid Families: Proper Elements and Spectral Classifications

NASA provides an updated compilation of asteroid families and clusters. The data results from applying the Hierarchical Clustering Method to proper elements for approximately 120,000 asteroids. It was last updated in March 2026 and includes Bus taxonomy classifications from spectroscopic surveys where available.

Use Cases

• Identify and analyze asteroid dynamical families based on proper orbital elements.
• Study correlations between family membership and spectral type using Bus taxonomy classifications.
• Validate or compare clustering algorithms for solar system object classification.
• Investigate the origin and evolution of asteroid families in the main belt.

Strengths

• Analysis is based on a large set of approximately 120,000 asteroids.
• Integrates data from multiple spectroscopic surveys (SMASS, SMASS2, S3OS2) for taxonomic classification.
• Uses the established Hierarchical Clustering Method (HCM) for family identification.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Application of the Hierarchical Clustering Method (HCM) on asteroid proper elements, with spectral classifications from surveys.

Time Range

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Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 04:57:00.004661; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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