| Minorplanet: | yes |
| Background: |
|
| 996 Hilaritas | |
| Mpc Name: | (996) Hilaritas |
| Alt Names: | 1923 NM |
| Discovered: | 21 March 1923 |
| Orbit Ref: | [1] |
| Observation Arc: | 88.16 yr (32200 days) |
| Uncertainty: | 0 |
| Epoch: | 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5) |
| Eccentricity: | 0.14063 |
| Semimajor: | 3.0878AU |
| Perihelion: | 2.6535AU |
| Aphelion: | 3.522abbr=onNaNabbr=on |
| Period: | 5.43 yr (1981.8 d) |
| Inclination: | 0.65948° |
| Asc Node: | 347.404° |
| Arg Peri: | 147.140° |
| Mean Motion: | / day |
| Abs Magnitude: | 10.88 |
| Rotation: | 10.05abbr=onNaNabbr=on |
| Mean Radius: | km |
996 Hilaritas is a Themistian asteroid. It was discovered in 1923 by Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa. Following Palisa's death in 1925, this asteroid was named for a "happy or contented mind"; qualities associated with the discoverer.
Photometric observations of this asteroid collected during 2010 show a rotation period of 10.052 ± 0.001 hours with a brightness variation of 0.65 ± 0.03 magnitude.