Diagram showing different orbit types of near-Earth asteroids, helping us understand space objects close to Earth.
Apollo asteroids are a special group of space rocks that come close to Earth. They are named after 1862 Apollo, an asteroid found by a German astronomer in the 1930s. These asteroids travel around the Sun on paths that cross Earth’s orbit, which makes them interesting to scientists.
Common orbital subgroups of Near-Earth Objects (NEOs)
There are over 21,000 known Apollo asteroids, and they make up the largest group of objects near Earth. Some of these asteroids could come very close to Earth, so scientists watch them carefully. One famous example is the Chelyabinsk meteor that lit up the sky over Russia in 2013.
These asteroids are usually given names from Greek mythology, after Greek deities, adding a touch of ancient stories to modern space science.
List
The biggest Apollo asteroid we know of is 1866 Sisyphus, which is about 8.5 kilometers wide. Some other Apollo asteroids we have found are listed here:
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