The Apollo asteroids are a group of near-Earth asteroids named after 1862 Apollo, discovered by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth in the 1930s. They are Earth-crossing asteroids that have an orbital semi-major axis greater than that of the Earth (a > 1 AU) but perihelion distances less than the Earth's aphelion distance (q < 1.017 AU).
, the number of known Apollo asteroids is 21,083, making the class the largest group of near-Earth objects (cf. the Aten, Amor and Atira asteroids), of which 1,742 are numbered (asteroids are not numbered until they have been observed at two or more oppositions), 81 are named, and 2,130 are identified as potentially hazardous asteroids.
The closer their semi-major axis is to Earth's, the less eccentricity is needed for the orbits to cross. The Chelyabinsk meteor, that exploded over the city of Chelyabinsk in the southern Urals region of Russia on February 15, 2013, injuring an estimated 1,500 people with flying glass from broken windows, was an Apollo-class asteroid.
Apollo asteroids are generally named after Greek deities.
List The largest known Apollo asteroid is 1866 Sisyphus, with a diameter of about 8.5 km. Examples of known Apollo asteroids include:
Designation Year Discoverer/First observed Ref 2025 Zwicky Transient Facility 2024 ATLAS-SAAO 2019 ATLAS-HKO 2016 NEOWISE 2014 CSS 2013 CSS 2013 CSS 2011 LINEAR 2011 CSS–Mount Lemmon Survey 2010 LINEAR 2009 CSS 2009 Siding Spring Observatory, Australia 2008 LINEAR 2008 CSS 2008 CSS–Mount Lemmon Survey 2007 CSS 2007 CSS 2007 CSS 2007 CSS–Mount Lemmon Survey 2006 Spacewatch 2006 LINEAR 2006 Spacewatch 2005 R. S. McMillan, Steward Observatory, Kitt Peak, USA 2005 Mount Lemmon Survey 2005 LONEOS 2004 LINEAR 2004 LINEAR 2004 LINEAR 2004 LINEAR 2003 James Whitney Young 2003 James Whitney Young 2002 LINEAR 2002 LINEAR 54509 YORP 2000 LINEAR 162173 Ryugu 1999 LINEAR 1999 LINEAR 101955 Bennu 1999 LINEAR (Bennu is the target of the OSIRIS-REx mission) 1998 Spacewatch 1997 LINEAR 65803 Didymos 1996 Spacewatch 69230 Hermes 1937 Karl Reinmuth 1999 LINEAR 1998 LINEAR 1997 Spacewatch 25143 Itokawa 1998 LINEAR (136617) 1994 CC 1994 Spacewatch 1996 R. H. McNaught, Siding Spring Observatory, Australia 6489 Golevka 1991 Eleanor F. Helin 4769 Castalia 1989 Eleanor F. Helin 4660 Nereus 1982 Eleanor F. Helin 4581 Asclepius 1989 Henry E. Holt, Norman G. Thomas 4486 Mithra 1987 Eric Elst, Vladimir Shkodrov 14827 Hypnos 1986 Carolyn S. Shoemaker, Eugene Merle Shoemaker 4197 Morpheus 1982 Eleanor F. Helin, Eugene Merle Shoemaker 4183 Cuno 1959 Cuno Hoffmeister 4179 Toutatis 1989 Christian Pollas 4015 Wilson–Harrington 1979 Eleanor F. Helin 3200 Phaethon 1983 Simon F. Green, John K.Davies / IRAS 2063 Bacchus 1977 Charles T. Kowal 1866 Sisyphus 1972 Paul Wild 1620 Geographos 1951 Albert George Wilson, Rudolph Minkowski (29075) 1950 DA 1950 Carl A. Wirtanen 1566 Icarus 1949 Walter Baade 1685 Toro 1948 Carl A. Wirtanen 2101 Adonis 1936 Eugène Joseph Delporte 1862 Apollo 1932 Karl Reinmuth
See also Alinda group Amor asteroid Apollo asteroids (category) Apollo asteroid records Aten asteroid List of minor planets
References
External links List of Apollo minor planets