Q2265762
Sign in to saveAlso known as Didymos, (65803) Didymos, 1996 GT
binary asteroid in the Apollo group
Key facts
- Discovered by
- Spacewatch
- Discovery site
- Kitt Peak National Observatory
- Discovery date
- 11 April 1996
- Pronunciation
- / ˈ d ɪ d ɪ m ɒ s /
- Named after
- Greek word for " Twin "
- Alternative designations
- 1996 GT
- Minor planet category
- NEO · PHA , Apollo (2022)
- Observation arc
- 24.82 years (9,066 days)
- Aphelion
- 2.2753 AU
- Perihelion
- 1.0131 AU
- Semi major axis
- 1.6442 AU
- Orbital period sidereal
- 2.11 yr (770 days)
- Mean motion
- 0° 28 2.28 / day
- Inclination
- 3.4079°
- Longitude of ascending node
- 73.196°
- Argument of perihelion
- 319.32°
- Known satellites
- 1 ( Dimorphos )
- Earth moid
- 0.0403 AU (15.7 LD )
via Wikipedia infobox
~9 min read
Encyclopedic overview
65803 Didymos (provisional designation 1996 GT) is a sub-kilometer asteroid and binary system that is classified as a potentially hazardous asteroid and near-Earth object of the Apollo group. The asteroid was discovered in 1996 by the Spacewatch survey at Kitt Peak, and its small 160-meter minor-planet moon, named Dimorphos, was discovered in 2003. Due to its binary nature, the asteroid was then named Didymos, the Greek word for 'twin'.
Didymos's moon, Dimorphos, was the target of the DART mission to test the viability of asteroid impact avoidance by collision with a spacecraft, while the impact was witnessed by LICIACube, a flyby CubeSat component of the mission.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Q2265762” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.