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Discovery
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| Discovered by | Paul Wild |
| Discovery date | December 5, 1972 |
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Designations
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| Named after | Sisyphus |
| Alternate name(s) | 1972 XA |
| Minor planet category |
Apollo, Mars crosser |
| Epoch December 1, 2005 (JD 2453705.5) | |
| Aphelion | 435.936 Gm (2.914 AU) |
| Perihelion | 130.751 Gm (0.874 AU) |
| Semi-major axis | 283.343 Gm (1.894 AU) |
| Eccentricity | 0.539 |
| Orbital period | 952.094 d (2.607 a) |
| Average orbital speed | 19.977 km/s |
| Mean anomaly | 261.365° |
| Inclination | 41.181° |
| Longitude of ascending node | 63.600° |
| Argument of perihelion | 293.033° |
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Physical characteristics
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| Dimensions | 8.5 km |
| Mass | ?? kg |
| Mean density | ? g/cm³ |
| Equatorial surface gravity | ? m/s² |
| Escape velocity | ? km/s |
| Rotation period | .1 d |
| Albedo | .160 |
| Temperature | ~? K |
| Spectral type | S |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 12.237 |
1866 Sisyphus ( /ˈsɪsɨfəs/ sis-i-fəs) is a binary[1] 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.
This Apollo asteroid will reach apparent magnitude of 10.0 on November 26th, 2071 when it will be a mere 0.116 A.U. (17.4 million kilometers) from Earth (when it was discovered it peaked at magnitude 9.0 in November 25th, 1972), being one of the brightest of its class.
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