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.
[2] 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.
This article about a C-type asteroid native to the asteroid belt is a stub.