Hal is asteroid #9000 and also known as 1981 JO. Hal was discovered by Edward L.G. “Ted” Bowell at the Anderson Mesa Station of the Lowell Observatory. Hal is a stony asteroid and Hal’s orbit is characterized by a semi-major axis of 2.23 Astronomical Units, an eccentricity of 0.21, a period of revolution of 1 216 days, and an inclination of 6.3 degrees. Hal is a slow rotator. One turn needs 908 hours. Still disputed is whether Hal is a non-family background asteroid of the proximal section of the Asteroid Main Belt or a member of the Hirayama-family Flora. This depends on the method of clustering.

Hal is named after the fictional computer HAL 9000 from Arthur Clarke’s novel and Stanley Kubrick’s movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. The name obviously is inspired by the asteroid number. HAL 9000 is the computer on board of the spaceship Discovery, which is the namesake of an asteroid too. HAL is an acronym for Heuristically programmed Algorithmic computer. Wikipedia describes it as a homicidal supercomputer. The official naming citation describes it as an icon for artificial intelligence and a beacon, that has motivated an incalculable number of careers in computing, computer science, electrical engineering and space exploration.

Computers won’t revolt and decide the fate of humans. The era of science had ended much too early for the possibility of such a development. So Hal simply represents computers and learning algorithms. Hal gains meanings in synastries when in aspect with other asteroids of the Space Odyssey series. Discovery is asteroid #9770, so discovered later than Hal. But they belong together like the spaceship and the computer of the spaceship. Hal is responsible for the destruction of Discovery. Hence both asteroids together would indicate an as tight as toxic relationship.