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Apollo asteroid
Sign in to saveAlso known as Apollo objects, Apollo-class asteroid
family of Earth-crossing asteroids that have an orbital semi-major axis greater than that of the Earth (a > 1 AU) but a perihelion distance less than the Earth's aphelion distance (q < 1.017 AU)
Apollo asteroids are a group of space rocks that cross Earth's orbital path, with orbits that extend farther from the Sun than Earth's but come closer to the Sun than Earth's farthest point. They matter because their Earth-crossing trajectories make them important to monitor for potential collision risks and to study for understanding our solar system.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid family
- Named after
- 1862 Apollo
- Image
- Minor Planets - Apollo.svg
Show 3 more facts
- discoverer or inventor
- Karl Wilhelm Reinmuth
- time of discovery or invention
- 1930-00-00
- topic's main category
- Category:Apollo asteroids
via Wikidata · CC0
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Encyclopedic overview
Common orbital subgroups of Near-Earth Objects (NEOs)
The Apollo asteroids are a group of near-Earth asteroids named after 1862 Apollo, discovered by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth in the 1930s. They are Earth-crossing asteroids that have an orbital semi-major axis greater than that of the Earth (a > 1 AU) but perihelion distances less than the Earth's aphelion distance (q < 1.017 AU).
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Apollo asteroid” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.