1866 Sisyphus
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Discovery A | |
---|---|
Discoverer | Paul Wild |
Discovery date | December 5, 1972 |
Alternate designations B |
1972 XA |
Category | Apollo, Mars crosser |
Orbital elements C | |
|
|
Eccentricity (e) | 0.539 |
Semi-major axis (a) | 283.343 Gm (1.894 AU) |
Perihelion (q) | 130.751 Gm (0.874 AU) |
Aphelion (Q) | 435.936 Gm (2.914 AU) |
Orbital period (P) | 952.094 d (2.607 a) |
Mean orbital speed | 19.977 km/s |
Inclination (i) | 41.181° |
Longitude of the ascending node (Ω) |
63.600° |
Argument of perihelion (ω) |
293.033° |
Mean anomaly (M) | 261.365° |
Physical characteristics D | |
Dimensions | 8.5 km |
Mass | ?? kg |
Density | ? g/cm³ |
Surface gravity | ? m/s² |
Escape velocity | ? km/s |
Rotation period | .1 d |
Spectral class | S |
Absolute magnitude | 12.237 |
Albedo (geometric) | .160 |
Mean surface temperature |
~? K |
1866 Sisyphus (sis'-ə-fəs) is an Apollo asteroid which, at approximately 10 km in diameter, is the largest of the Earth-crossing asteroids. It is comparable in size to the Chicxulub object whose impact may have killed off the dinosaurs.
Sisyphus was discovered in 1972 by Paul Wild, and named after the Sisyphus of Greek mythology.