1862 Apollo

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1862 Apollo
Discovery
Discovered by Karl Reinmuth
Discovery date April 24, 1932
Designations
Alternative names 1932 HA
Minor planet
category
Apollo asteroid,
Venus-crosser asteroid,
Mars-crosser asteroid
Epoch November 26, 2005 (JD 2453700.5)
Aphelion 343.216 Gm (2.294 AU)
Perihelion 96.850 Gm (0.647 AU)
Semi-major axis 220.033 Gm (1.471 AU)
Eccentricity 0.560
Orbital period 651.543 d (1.78 a)
Average orbital speed 22.50 km/s
Mean anomaly 38.337°
Inclination 6.355°
Longitude of ascending node 35.777°
Argument of perihelion 285.784°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 1.7 km
Mass 5.1×1012? kg
Mean density 2.0? g/cm³
Equatorial surface gravity 0.0005? m/s²
Escape velocity 0.0009? km/s
Rotation period 0.1277265 d (3.065436 h)
Albedo 0.21 [1]
Temperature ~222 K
Spectral type Q
Absolute magnitude 16.25

1862 Apollo is a Q-type asteroid, discovered by Karl Reinmuth in 1932, but lost and not recovered until 1973. It is named after the Greek god Apollo.

It is the namesake of the Apollo asteroids, and the first one discovered, although because it was lost for a time its asteroid number (1862) is higher than that of some other Apollo asteroids such as 1566 Icarus. It is also a Venus- and Mars-crosser asteroid.

It was the first asteroid recognized to cross Earth's orbit.

[edit] Moon

On November 4, 2005, it was announced that an asteroid moon, or satellite of Apollo has been detected by radar observations from Arecibo Observatory, Puerto Rico, 29 October2 November 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 (available only to subscribers). The satellite is just 80 m across and orbits Apollo closely, in an orbit a mere 3 km in radius [2].

[edit] External links