Apollo asteroid - Definition and Overview

The Apollo asteroids are a group of near-Earth asteroids named after 1862 Apollo, the first asteroid of this group to be discovered. 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:

Related topics

• Apollo asteroids (category)
• List of named Apollo asteroids
• Apollo asteroid records

External links

• List of Apollo minor planets (http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/lists/Apollos.html)