1143 Odysseus

1143 Odysseus is a Jupiter Trojan asteroid that orbits in the L4 Lagrangian point of the Sun-Jupiter system, in the "Greek Camp" of trojan asteroids. It was named after the Greek hero Odysseus Laertiades in Homer's epic poem The Odyssey. It was discovered by Karl Wilhelm Reinmuth in 1930.

As a Jupiter Trojan it is in a very stable orbit. Its closest approach to any major planet will be on 2083-May-04 when it will still be 3.104 AU (464,400,000 km; 288,500,000 mi) from Mars.

Based on IRAS data, Odysseus is 126 km in diameter and is about the 8th largest Jupiter Trojan known.

JPL Small-Body Database list of the largest Jupiter Trojans based on IRAS data:
Trojan Diameter (km)
624 Hektor 225
911 Agamemnon 167
1437 Diomedes 164
1172 Äneas 143
617 Patroclus 141
588 Achilles 135
1173 Anchises 126
1143 Odysseus 126

Famous quotes containing the word odysseus:

    “We should part from life as Odysseus parted from Nausicaa—blessing it rather than in love with it.”
    —Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)