Editing 5145 Pholus (section)

== Orbit and classification ==
[[File:5145 Pholus.tiff|thumb|200px|left|Orbital diagram of 5145 Pholus]]

Pholus was the second [[Centaur (minor planet)|centaur]] to be discovered.<ref name="Wilson-1994" /> Centaurs are objects in between the [[asteroid]] and [[trans-Neptunian]] populations of the Solar System{{Snd}} that is, beyond Jupiter's and within Neptune's orbit{{Snd}} which behave with characteristics of both asteroids and [[comet]]s.

It orbits the Sun at a distance of 8.8–31.9&nbsp;[[Astronomical unit|AU]] once every 91 years and 9 months (33,526 days; [[semi-major axis]] of 20.35&nbsp;AU). Its orbit has an [[orbital eccentricity|eccentricity]] of 0.57 and an [[orbital inclination|inclination]] of 25[[Degree (angle)|°]] with respect to the [[ecliptic]].<ref name="jpldata" /> It is a [[List of Saturn-crossing minor planets|Saturn-]], [[List of Uranus-crossing minor planets|Uranus-]] and [[Neptune-crosser]], crossing the orbits of these [[giant planet]]s at a mean distance of 9.6, 11.9, and 30.1&nbsp;AU from the Sun, respectively. Pholus has not come within one [[astronomical unit]] of a planet since 764&nbsp;BC, and will not until 5290.<ref name="Pholus5290" /> It is believed that it originated in the [[Kuiper belt]].