1862 Apollo

Infobox Planet | discovery=yes | physical_characteristics = yes | bgcolour=#FFFFC0
name=1862 Apollo
discoverer=Karl Reinmuth
discovered=April 24, 1932
alt_names=1932 HA
mp_category=Apollo asteroid,
Venus-crosser asteroid,
Mars-crosser asteroid
epoch=November 26, 2005 (JD 2453700.5)
semimajor=220.033 Gm (1.471 AU)
perihelion=96.850 Gm (0.647 AU)
aphelion=343.216 Gm (2.294 AU)
eccentricity=0.560
period=651.543 d (1.78 a)
inclination=6.355°
asc_node=35.777°
arg_peri=285.784°
mean_anomaly=38.337°
avg_speed=22.50 km/s
dimensions=1.7 km
mass=5.1×10¹²? kg
density=2.0? g/cm³
surface_grav=0.0005? m/s²
escape_velocity=0.0009? km/s
rotation=0.1277265 d (3.065436 h)
spectral_type=Q
abs_magnitude=16.25
albedo=0.21 [http://cdsads.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/bib_query?1989AJ.....97.1211V]
single_temperature=~222 K

1862 Apollo (pron-en|əˈpɒloʊ) is a Q-type asteroid, discovered by Karl Reinmuth in 1932, but lost and not recovered until 1973. It is named after the Greek god Apollo.

It is the namesake of the Apollo asteroids, and the first one discovered, although because it was lost for a time its asteroid number (1862) is higher than that of some other Apollo asteroids such as 1566 Icarus. Analysis of the spin of this object provided observational evidence of the YORP effect.

It was the first asteroid recognized to cross Earth's orbit. It is also a Venus- and Mars-crosser asteroid.

Moon

On November 4, 2005, it was announced that an asteroid moon, or satellite of Apollo has been detected by radar observations from Arecibo Observatory, Puerto Rico, 29 October–2 November, 2005. The standard provisional designation for this satellite is S/2005 (1862) 1. The announcement is contained in the International Astronomical Union Circular (IAUC) 8627 [http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iauc/08600/08627.html] . The satellite is just 80 m across and orbits Apollo closely, in an orbit a mere 3 km in radius [http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/astro/astmoons/am-01862.html] .

External links

* [http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=1862;orb=1 NASA JPL orbital simulation 1862 Apollo (Java)]