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Discovery
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| Discovered by | Charles T. Kowal |
| Discovery date | March 6, 1973 |
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Designations
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| Named after | Midas |
| Alternate name(s) | 1973 EA |
| Minor planet category |
Apollo Venus crosser Mars crosser |
| Epoch December 1, 2005 (JD 2453705.5) | |
| Aphelion | 2.931 AU |
| Perihelion | 0.621 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 1.776 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.650 |
| Orbital period | 864.541 d |
| Average orbital speed | 19.757 km/s |
| Mean anomaly | 267.903° |
| Inclination | 39.838° |
| Longitude of ascending node | 357.037° |
| Argument of perihelion | 267.739° |
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Physical characteristics
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| Dimensions | 3.4 km |
| Rotation period | 5.22 h |
| Apparent magnitude | 11.8 (brightest) |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 15.5 |
The asteroid 1981 Midas was discovered on March 6, 1973 by Charles T. Kowal at Palomar Observatory. It is named after Midas, the king of Phrygia in Greek mythology who turned objects to gold when he touched them. Midas is an Apollo asteroid, a Venus and Mars-crosser asteroid with an orbital period of 2 years, 134 days.
Its last close approach to Earth was in March 1992, passing at 19.9 Gm. The next close approach will be in March 2018 coming within a distance of 13.4 Gm and shining at an apparent magnitude of +12.3.
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