Apollo asteroid
The Apollo asteroids are a group of near-Earth asteroids named after 1862 Apollo, discovered by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth in the 1930s. They are Earth-crossing asteroids that have an orbital semi-major axis greater than that of the Earth (a > 1 AU) but perihelion distances less than the Earth's aphelion distance (q < 1.017 AU). As of January 2025, the number of known Apollo asteroids is 21,083, making the class the largest group of near-Earth objects (cf. the Aten, Amor and Atira asteroids), of which 1,742 are numbered (asteroids are not numbered until they have been observed at two or more oppositions), 81 are named, and 2,130 are identified as potentially hazardous asteroids. The closer their semi-major axis is to Earth's, the less eccentricity is needed for the orbits to cross. The Chelyabinsk meteor, that exploded over the city of Chelyabinsk in the southern Urals region of Russia on February 15, 2013, injuring an estimated 1,500 people with flying glass from broken windows, was an Apollo-class asteroid. Apollo asteroids are generally named after Greek deities.
The Apollo asteroids are a group of near-Earth asteroids named after 1862 Apollo, discovered by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth in the 1930s. They are Earth-crossing asteroids that have an orbital semi-major axis greater than that of the Earth (a > 1 AU) but perihelion distances less than the Earth's aphelion distance (q < 1.017 AU).[1][2]
As of January 2025[update], the number of known Apollo asteroids is 21,083, making the class the largest group of near-Earth objects (cf. the Aten, Amor and Atira asteroids), of which 1,742 are numbered (asteroids are not numbered until they have been observed at two or more oppositions), 81 are named, and 2,130 are identified as potentially hazardous asteroids.[3][4]
The closer their semi-major axis is to Earth's, the less eccentricity is needed for the orbits to cross. The Chelyabinsk meteor, that exploded over the city of Chelyabinsk in the southern Urals region of Russia on February 15, 2013, injuring an estimated 1,500 people with flying glass from broken windows, was an Apollo-class asteroid.[5][6]
Apollo asteroids are generally named after Greek deities.[7]
List
[edit]The largest known Apollo asteroid is 1866 Sisyphus, with a diameter of about 8.5 km. Examples of known Apollo asteroids include:
See also
[edit]- Alinda group
- Amor asteroid
- Apollo asteroids (category)
- Apollo asteroid records
- Aten asteroid
- List of minor planets
- 2020 PP1
References
[edit]- ^ "Near-Earth Object Groups". JPL – NASA. Archived from the original on 2 February 2002. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
- ^ Weisstein, Eric. "Apollo Asteroid". Wolfram Research. Archived from the original on 28 January 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
- ^ "Small-Body Database Query". Solar System Dynamics – Jet Propulsion Laboratory. NASA – California Institute of Technology. Archived from the original on 2021-09-27. Retrieved 2025-01-17.
- ^ "List of Apollo Minor Planets". IAU Minor Planet Center. Center for Astrophysics. Archived from the original on 2024-05-29. Retrieved 2025-01-17.
- ^ Cantor, Matt (26 February 2013). "Scientists figure out Russia meteor's origin". USA Today. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
- ^ Jacob Aron (26 February 2013). "Russian meteor traced to Apollo asteroid family". New Scientist. Archived from the original on 13 July 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
- ^ Phait, Phil (19 April 2021), "Apophis and Stargate", Bad Astronomy Newsletter, no. 315, retrieved 11 August 2025
- ^ The Spacewatch Project, Arizona Board of Regents, 2010, archived from the original on 2017-07-18, retrieved 2015-08-16
External links
[edit]- List of Apollo minor planets Archived 2014-12-04 at the Wayback Machine
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