| Minorplanet: | yes |
| 1862 Apollo | |
| Symbol: | 24px (astrological) |
| Background: |
|
| Discovered: | 24 April 1932 |
| Mpc Name: | (1862) Apollo |
| Alt Names: | 1932 HA |
| Pronounced: | [1] |
| Named After: | Apollo |
| Epoch: | 29 December 2009 (JD 2455194.5) |
| Uncertainty: | 0 |
| Observation Arc: | 85.32 yr (31162 days) |
| Earliest Precovery Date: | 13 December 1930 |
| Aphelion: | 2.2935abbr=onNaNabbr=on |
| Perihelion: | 0.64699AU |
| Semimajor: | 1.4702AU |
| Eccentricity: | 0.55994 |
| Period: | 1.78 yr (651.15 d) |
| Inclination: | 6.3530° |
| Asc Node: | 35.739° |
| Arg Peri: | 285.85° |
| Moid: | 0.0257026AU |
| Dimensions: | 1.5km (00.9miles) |
| Rotation: | 3.065abbr=onNaNabbr=on |
| Spectral Type: | Q B–V = 0.819 U–B = 0.481 |
| Abs Magnitude: | 16.25 |
| Albedo: | 0.25 |
| Temp Name1: | Kelvin[2] |
| Min Temp 1: | 171 K |
| Mean Temp 1: | 214 K |
| Max Temp 1: | 322 K |
| Temp Name2: | Celsius |
| Min Temp 2: | -102°C |
| Mean Temp 2: | -59°C |
| Max Temp 2: | 49°C |
| Temp Name3: | Fahrenheit |
| Min Temp 3: | -151.6°F |
| Mean Temp 3: | -74.2°F |
| Max Temp 3: | 120.2°F |
| Mean Motion: | / day |
| Jupiter Moid: | 3.06837AU |
| Tisserand: | 4.415 |
1862 Apollo is a stony asteroid, approximately 1.5 kilometers in diameter, classified as a near-Earth object (NEO). It was discovered by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth at Heidelberg Observatory on 24 April 1932, but lost and not recovered until 1973.
It is the namesake and the first recognized member of the Apollo asteroids, a subgroup of NEOs which are Earth-crossers, that is, they cross the orbit of the Earth when viewed perpendicularly to the ecliptic plane (crossing an orbit is a more general term than actually intersecting it). In addition, since Apollo's orbit is highly eccentric, it crosses the orbits of Venus and Mars and is therefore called a Venus-crosser and Mars-crosser as well.
Although Apollo was the first Apollo asteroid to be discovered, its official IAU-number (1862) is higher than that of some other Apollo asteroids such as 1566 Icarus, due to the fact that it was a lost asteroid for more than 40 years and other bodies were numbered in the meantime. The analysis of its rotation provided observational evidence of the YORP effect.
It is named after the Greek god Apollo. He is the god of the Sun, child of Zeus and Leto, after which the minor planets 5731 Zeus and 68 Leto are named.
On November 4, 2005, it was announced that an asteroid moon, or satellite of Apollo, had been detected by radar observations from Arecibo Observatory, Puerto Rico, October 29 - November 2, 2005. The announcement is contained in the International Astronomical Union Circular (IAUC) 8627.[3] The satellite is only 80m (260feet) across and orbits Apollo just 3km (02miles) away from the asteroid itself.[4] From the surface of Apollo, S/2005 (1862) 1 would have an angular diameter of about 2.0835 degrees.[5]
1862 Apollo is a potentially hazardous asteroid (PHA) because its minimum orbit intersection distance (MOID) is less than 0.05 AU and its diameter is greater than 150 meters. Apollo's Earth MOID is 0.0257abbr=onNaNabbr=on. Its orbit is well-determined for the next several hundred years. On 17 May 2075 it will pass 0.0083abbr=onNaNabbr=on from Venus.
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