1221 Amor
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1221 Amor
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Discovery
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| Discovered by | Eugène Joseph Delporte |
| Discovery date | March 12, 1932 |
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Designations
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| Alternate name(s) | 1932 EA1 |
| Minor planet category |
Amor asteroid, Mars-crosser asteroid |
| Epoch July 14, 2004 (JD 2453200.5) | |
| Aphelion | 2.754 AU (412.011 Gm) |
| Perihelion | 1.086 AU (162.403 Gm) |
| Semi-major axis | 1.920 AU (287.207 Gm) |
| Eccentricity | 0.435 |
| Orbital period | 2.66 a (971.635 d) |
| Average orbital speed | 20.44 km/s |
| Mean anomaly | 49.408° |
| Inclination | 11.879° |
| Longitude of ascending node | 171.418° |
| Argument of perihelion | 26.436° |
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Physical characteristics
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| Dimensions | 1.5? km |
| Mass | 3.5×1012 kg |
| Mean density | 2? g/cm³ |
| Equatorial surface gravity | 0.000 42 m/s² |
| Escape velocity | 0.000 79 km/s |
| Albedo | 0.15? |
| Temperature | ~198 K |
| Spectral type | C or S? |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 17.7 |
1221 Amor is the namesake of the Amor asteroids, a group of near-Earth asteroids whose orbits range between those of Earth and Mars. Amors are often Mars-crossers but they are not Earth-crossers.
Eugène Joseph Delporte photographed Amor as it approached Earth to within 16 million kilometers (about 40 times the distance from Earth to the moon); this was the first time that an asteroid was seen to approach Earth so closely. A month later, 1862 Apollo was seen to cross Earth's orbit, and the scientific community suddenly realised the potential threat these flying mountains presented.
Amor is named after the Roman god of love, better known as Cupid. See also 763 Cupido and 433 Eros, which is named after Cupid's Greek counterpart. Coincidentally, 433 Eros, like 1221 Amor, makes close approaches to Earth. It is a Mars-crosser as well.
External links
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