Amor asteroid
The Amor asteroids are a group of near-Earth asteroids named after the archetype object 1221 Amor /ˈeɪmɔːr/. The orbital perihelion of these objects is close to, but greater than, the orbital aphelion of Earth (i.e., the objects do not cross Earth's orbit),[1] with most Amors crossing the orbit of Mars. The Amor asteroid 433 Eros was the first asteroid to be orbited and landed upon by a robotic space probe (NEAR Shoemaker).
Definition
The orbital characteristics that define an asteroid as being in the Amor group are:[2]
- The orbital period is greater than one year; i.e., the orbital semi-major axis (a) is greater than 1.0 AU (a > 1.0 AU);
- The orbit does not cross that of Earth; i.e., the orbital perihelion (q) is greater than Earth's orbital aphelion (q > 1.017 AU);
- The object is a near-Earth object (NEO); i.e., q < 1.3 AU.
Populations
As of 2023 there are 11,232 known Amor asteroids. Of those objects, 1275 are numbered and 80 are named.[3]
Outer Earth-grazer asteroids
An outer Earth-grazer asteroid is an asteroid that is normally beyond Earth's orbit, but which can get closer to the Sun than Earth's aphelion (1.0167 AU), and not closer than Earth's perihelion (0.9833 AU); i.e., the asteroid's perihelion is between Earth's perihelion and aphelion. Outer Earth-grazer asteroids are split between Amor and Apollo asteroids. Using the definition of Amor asteroids above, "Earth grazers" that never get closer to the Sun than Earth does (at any point along its orbit) are Amors, whereas those that do are Apollos.
Potentially hazardous asteroids
To be considered a potentially hazardous asteroid (PHA), an object's orbit must, at some point, come within 0.05 AU of Earth's orbit, and the object itself must be sufficiently large/massive to cause significant regional damage if it impacted Earth.[4] Most PHAs are either Aten asteroids or Apollo asteroids (and thus have orbits that cross the orbit of Earth), but approximately one tenth of PHAs are Amor asteroids. A potentially hazardous Amor asteroid therefore must have a perihelion of less than 1.05 AU. Approximately 20% of the known Amors meet this requirement, and about a fifth of those are PHAs. The fifty known Amor PHAs include the named objects 2061 Anza, 3122 Florence, 3908 Nyx, and 3671 Dionysus.
Lists
Prominent Amor asteroids
Name | Year | Discoverer | Refs |
---|---|---|---|
3908 Nyx | 1980 | Hans-Emil Schuster | MPC · JPL · LCDB |
1221 Amor | 1932 | Eugène Delporte | MPC · JPL · LCDB |
1036 Ganymed | 1924 | Walter Baade | MPC · JPL · LCDB |
887 Alinda | 1918 | Max Wolf | MPC · JPL · LCDB |
719 Albert | 1911 | Johann Palisa | MPC · JPL · LCDB |
433 Eros | 1898 | Gustav Witt | MPC · JPL · LCDB |
Named Amor asteroids
This is a non-static list of named Amor asteroids.[5]
Designation | Prov. designation |
---|---|
433 Eros | 1898 DQ |
719 Albert | 1911 MT |
887 Alinda | 1918 DB |
1036 Ganymed | 1924 TD |
1221 Amor | 1932 EA1 |
1580 Betulia | 1950 KA |
1627 Ivar | 1929 SH |
1915 Quetzalcoatl | 1953 EA |
1916 Boreas | 1953 RA |
1917 Cuyo | 1968 AA |
1943 Anteros | 1973 EC |
1980 Tezcatlipoca | 1950 LA |
2059 Baboquivari | 1963 UA |
2061 Anza | 1960 UA |
2202 Pele | 1972 RA |
2368 Beltrovata | 1977 RA |
2608 Seneca | 1978 DA |
3102 Krok | 1981 QA |
3122 Florence | 1981 ET3 |
3199 Nefertiti | 1982 RA |
3271 Ul | 1982 RB |
3288 Seleucus | 1982 DV |
3352 McAuliffe | 1981 CW |
3551 Verenia | 1983 RD |
3552 Don Quixote | 1983 SA |
Designation | Prov. designation |
---|---|
3553 Mera | 1985 JA |
3671 Dionysus | 1984 KD |
3691 Bede | 1982 FT |
3757 Anagolay | 1982 XB |
3908 Nyx | 1980 PA |
3988 Huma | 1986 LA |
4055 Magellan | 1985 DO2 |
4401 Aditi | 1985 TB |
4487 Pocahontas | 1987 UA |
4503 Cleobulus | 1989 WM |
4947 Ninkasi | 1988 TJ1 |
4954 Eric | 1990 SQ |
4957 Brucemurray | 1990 XJ |
5324 Lyapunov | 1987 SL |
5332 Davidaguilar | 1990 DA |
5370 Taranis | 1986 RA |
5620 Jasonwheeler | 1990 OA |
5653 Camarillo | 1992 WD5 |
5751 Zao | 1992 AC |
5797 Bivoj | 1980 AA |
5863 Tara | 1983 RB |
5869 Tanith | 1988 VN4 |
5879 Almeria | 1992 CH1 |
6050 Miwablock | 1992 AE |
6456 Golombek | 1992 OM |
Designation | Prov. designation |
---|---|
6569 Ondaatje | 1993 MO |
7088 Ishtar | 1992 AA |
7336 Saunders | 1989 RS1 |
7358 Oze | 1995 YA3 |
7480 Norwan | 1994 PC |
8013 Gordonmoore | 1990 KA |
8034 Akka | 1992 LR |
8709 Kadlu | 1994 JF1 |
9172 Abhramu | 1989 OB |
9950 ESA | 1990 VB |
11284 Belenus | 1990 BA |
13553 Masaakikoyama | 1992 JE |
15745 Yuliya | 1991 PM5 |
15817 Lucianotesi | 1994 QC |
16064 Davidharvey | 1999 RH27 |
16912 Rhiannon | 1998 EP8 |
18106 Blume | 2000 NX3 |
20460 Robwhiteley | 1999 LO28 |
21088 Chelyabinsk | 1992 BL2 |
52387 Huitzilopochtli | 1993 OM7 |
65803 Didymos | 1996 GT |
96189 Pygmalion | 1991 NT3 |
154991 Vinciguerra | 2005 BX26 |
162011 Konnohmaru | 1994 AB1 |
164215 Doloreshill | 2004 MF6 |
Designation | Prov. designation |
---|---|
189011 Ogmios | 1997 NJ6 |
452307 Manawydan | 1997 XV11 |
481984 Cernunnos | 2009 KL2 |
See also
References
- "Amor asteroid". astronomy encyclopedia. Созвездия.ру. Retrieved 2018-12-26.
- "NEO Groups". NASA/JPL Near-Earth Object Program Office. Archived from the original on 2002-02-02. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
- "Small-Body Database Query". Solar System Dynamics - Jet Propulsion Laboratory. NASA - California Institute of Technology. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
- "List Of The Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs)". The International Astronomical Union Minor Planet Center. IAU - Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
- "List Of Amor Minor Planets (by designation)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 3 March 2017.