The Apollo asteroids are a group of near-Earth asteroids named after 1862 Apollo, the first asteroid of this group to be discovered by Karl Wilhelm Reinmuth. They are Earth-crosser asteroids that have orbital semi-major axes greater than that of the Earth. Some can get very close to the Earth, making them a potential threat to our planet (the closer their semi-major axis is to Earth's, the less eccentricity is needed for the orbits to cross). The largest known Apollo asteroid is 1866 Sisyphus, with a diameter of about 10 km. Well-known Apollo asteroids include:
See also
External links
|
|
|---|
| Vulcanoids · Near-Earth asteroids · Main belt · Jupiter Trojans · Centaurs · Damocloids · Neptune Trojans · Comets · Trans-Neptunians (Kuiper belt • Scattered disc objects • Oort cloud) |
| For other objects and regions, see Asteroid groups and families, Binary asteroids, Asteroid moons, meteoroids and the Solar System. For a complete listing, see List of asteroids. See also Pronunciation of asteroid names and Meanings of asteroid names. |
