The Apollo asteroids are a group of near-Earth asteroids named after 1862 Apollo, the first asteroid of this group to be discovered by Karl Wilhelm Reinmuth. They are Earth-crosser asteroids that have orbital semi-major axes greater than that of the Earth (> 1 AU) and a perihelion distance (q) < 1.017 AU. Some can get very close to the Earth, making them a potential threat to our planet (the closer their semi-major axis is to Earth's, the less eccentricity is needed for the orbits to cross).
The largest known Apollo asteroid is 1866 Sisyphus, with a diameter of about 10 km.
Well-known Apollo asteroids include:
| Name | Year | Discoverer |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 MD | 2011 | LINEAR |
| 2010 AL30 | 2010 | LINEAR |
| 2009 WM1 | 2009 | |
| 2009 DD45 | 2009 | Siding Spring Observatory, Australia |
| 2008 TC3 | 2008 | Catalina Sky Survey |
| 2007 VK184 | 2007 | Catalina Sky Survey |
| 2007 TU24 | 2007 | Catalina Sky Survey |
| 2007 WD5 | 2007 | Catalina Sky Survey |
| 2006 FV35 | 2006 | Spacewatch |
| 2006 SU49 | 2006 | Spacewatch |
| 2005 YU55 | 2005 | |
| 2005 WY55 | 2005 | |
| 2004 XP14 | 2004 | LINEAR |
| 2004 AS1 | 2004 | LINEAR |
| 2002 TD66 | 2002 | LINEAR |
| (137108) 1999 AN10 | 1999 | LINEAR |
| 1998 KY26 | 1998 | Spacewatch |
| 1997 XR2 | 1997 | LINEAR |
| 69230 Hermes | 1937 | Karl Reinmuth |
| (53319) 1999 JM8 | 1999 | LINEAR |
| (52760) 1998 ML14 | 1998 | LINEAR |
| (35396) 1997 XF11 | 1997 | Spacewatch |
| 25143 Itokawa | 1998 | LINEAR |
| 1994 CC | 1994 | Spacewatch |
| (175706) 1996 FG3 | 1996 | R. H. McNaught, Siding Spring Observatory, Australia |
| 6489 Golevka | 1991 | Eleanor F. Helin |
| 4769 Castalia | 1989 | Eleanor F. Helin |
| 4660 Nereus | 1982 | Eleanor F. Helin |
| 4581 Asclepius | 1989 | Henry E. Holt, Norman G. Thomas |
| 4486 Mithra | 1987 | Eric Elst, Vladimir Shkodrov |
| (4197) 1982 TA | 1982 | Eleanor F. Helin, Eugene Shoemaker |
| 4183 Cuno | 1959 | Cuno Hoffmeister |
| 4179 Toutatis | 1989 | Christian Pollas |
| 4015 Wilson-Harrington | 1979 | Eleanor F. Helin |
| 3200 Phaethon | 1983 | Simon F. Green, John K.Davies / IRAS |
| 2063 Bacchus | 1977 | Charles T. Kowal |
| 1866 Sisyphus | 1972 | Paul Wild |
| 1620 Geographos | 1951 | Albert George Wilson, Rudolph Minkowski |
| (29075) 1950 DA | 1950 | Carl A. Wirtanen |
| 1566 Icarus | 1949 | Walter Baade |
| 1685 Toro | 1948 | Carl A. Wirtanen |
| 2101 Adonis | 1936 | Eugène Joseph Delporte |
| 1862 Apollo | 1932 | Karl Reinmuth |
Famous quotes containing the words list of, list and/or apollo:
“Religious literature has eminent examples, and if we run over our private list of poets, critics, philanthropists and philosophers, we shall find them infected with this dropsy and elephantiasis, which we ought to have tapped.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“We saw the machinery where murderers are now executed. Seven have been executed. The plan is better than the old one. It is quietly done. Only a few, at the most about thirty or forty, can witness [an execution]. It excites nobody outside of the list permitted to attend. I think the time for capital punishment has passed. I would abolish it. But while it lasts this is the best mode.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
““Epic poem,—ten thousand lines—revolution of July—composed it on the spot—Mars by day, Apollo by night,—bang the field-piece, twang the lyre.””
—Charles Dickens (1812–1870)