1866 Sisyphus

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1866 Sisyphus
Discovery A
Discoverer Paul Wild
Discovery date December 5, 1972
Alternate
designations
B
1972 XA
Category Apollo, Mars crosser
Orbital elements C
Epoch December 1, 2005 (JD 2453705.5)
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
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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.