(1566) Icarus

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Asteroid
(1566) Icarus
Properties of the orbit ( animation )
Orbit type Near-Earth asteroid, Apollo-type
Major semi-axis 1.0779  AU
eccentricity 0.8269
Perihelion - aphelion 0.1866 AU - 1.9692 AU
Inclination of the orbit plane 22.856 °
Sidereal period 408.8 days
Mean orbital velocity 28.69 km / s
Physical Properties
Medium diameter 1 km
Albedo 0.4
Rotation period 2.273 hours
Absolute brightness 17 likes
history
Explorer Walter Baade
Date of discovery June 27, 1949
Another name 1949 MA
Source: Unless otherwise stated, the data comes from JPL Small-Body Database Browser . The affiliation to an asteroid family is automatically determined from the AstDyS-2 database . Please also note the note on asteroid items.

(1566) Icarus is a near-Earth asteroid (planetoid), from the group of the Apollo asteroids . These are heavenly bodies whose orbits can cross the earth's orbit.

This asteroid, about one kilometer in size, was discovered by Walter Baade on June 27, 1949 and has a relatively bright surface with an albedo of 0.4.

Icarus moves between 0.2 AU ( perihelion ) and 2 AU ( aphelion ) on a strongly elliptical orbit around the sun. This brings it closer to the sun than Mercury . For this reason it was named after Icarus , a tragic figure in Greek legend. With the help of self-made wings, it got too close to the sun and crashed.

See also