A three-dimensional model of 1862 Apollo based on its light-curve
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Discovery | |||||||||||||||||
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Discovered by | K. Reinmuth | ||||||||||||||||
Discovery site | Heidelberg Obs. | ||||||||||||||||
Discovery date | 24 April 1932 | ||||||||||||||||
Designations | |||||||||||||||||
MPC designation | (1862) Apollo | ||||||||||||||||
Named after
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Apollo (Greek mythology) |
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1932 HA | |||||||||||||||||
NEO · PHA Venus-crosser Mars-crosser Apollo |
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Orbital characteristics | |||||||||||||||||
Epoch 29 December 2009 (JD 2455194.5) | |||||||||||||||||
Uncertainty parameter 0 | |||||||||||||||||
Observation arc | 85.32 yr (31162 days) | ||||||||||||||||
Aphelion | 2.2935 AU (343.10 Gm) | ||||||||||||||||
Perihelion | 0.64699 AU (96.788 Gm) | ||||||||||||||||
1.4702 AU (219.94 Gm) | |||||||||||||||||
Eccentricity | 0.55994 | ||||||||||||||||
1.78 yr (651.15 d) | |||||||||||||||||
144.22° | |||||||||||||||||
0° 33m 10.332s / day | |||||||||||||||||
Inclination | 6.3530° | ||||||||||||||||
35.739° | |||||||||||||||||
285.85° | |||||||||||||||||
Earth MOID | 0.0257026 AU (3.84505 Gm) | ||||||||||||||||
Jupiter MOID | 3.06837 AU (459.022 Gm) | ||||||||||||||||
Jupiter Tisserand parameter | 4.415 | ||||||||||||||||
Physical characteristics | |||||||||||||||||
Dimensions | 1.5 km (0.93 mi) | ||||||||||||||||
Mean radius
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0.75 km | ||||||||||||||||
3.065 h (0.1277 d) | |||||||||||||||||
0.25 | |||||||||||||||||
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Q (Tholen, SMASS) B–V = 0.819 U–B = 0.481 |
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16.25 | |||||||||||||||||
1862 Apollo /əˈpɒloʊ/ is a stony asteroid, approximately 1.5 kilometers in diameter, classified as a near-Earth object (NEO). It was discovered by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth at Heidelberg Observatory on 24 April 1932, but lost and not recovered until 1973.
It is the namesake and the first recognized member of the Apollo asteroids, a subgroup of NEOs which are Earth-crosser, that is they cross the orbit of Earth when view perpendicular to the ecliptic plane (crossing an orbit is a more general term that actually intersecting it). In addition, since Apollo's orbit is highly eccentric, it crosses the orbits of Venus and Mars and is therefore called a Venus-crosser and Mars-crosser as well.
Although Apollo was the first Apollo asteroid to be discovered, its official IAU-number (1862) is higher than that of some other Apollo asteroids such as 1566 Icarus, due to the fact that it was a lost asteroid for more than 40 years and other bodies were numbered in the meantime. The analysis of its rotation provided observational evidence of the YORP effect.
It is named after the Greek god Apollo. He is the god of the Sun, child of Zeus and Leto, after which the minor planets 5731 Zeus and 68 Leto are named.
On November 4, 2005, it was announced that an asteroid moon, or satellite of Apollo, had been detected by radar observations from Arecibo Observatory, Puerto Rico, October 29 – November 2, 2005. The standard provisional designation for this satellite is S/2005 (1862) 1. The announcement is contained in the International Astronomical Union Circular (IAUC) 8627. The satellite is only 80 m (260 ft) across and orbits Apollo just 3 km (1.9 mi) away from the asteroid itself. From the surface of Apollo, S/2005 (1862) 1 would have an angular diameter of about 2.0835 degrees.