# Apollo asteroid

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).
As of January 2025, 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.

## 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 $^{(A)}$ | Ref |
| 2024 PT5 | 2024 | ATLAS-SAAO | MPC |
| 2019 SU3 | 2019 | ATLAS-HKO | MPC |
| 2016 WF9 | 2016 | NEOWISE | MPC |
| (671294) 2014 JO25 | 2014 | CSS | MPC |
| 2013 FW13 | 2013 | CSS | MPC |
| 2013 RH74 | 2013 | CSS | MPC |
| 2011 MD | 2011 | LINEAR | MPC$^{(B)}$ |
| 2011 EO40 | 2011 | CSS–Mount Lemmon Survey | MPC |
| 2010 AL30 | 2010 | LINEAR | MPC |
| (529366) 2009 WM1 | 2009 | CSS | MPC |
| 2009 DD45 | 2009 | Siding Spring Observatory, Australia | MPC |
| (386454) 2008 XM | 2008 | LINEAR | List |
| 2008 TC3 | 2008 | CSS | MPC |
| 2008 FF5 | 2008 | CSS–Mount Lemmon Survey | MPC |
| 2007 VK184 | 2007 | CSS | MPC |
| 2007 TU24 | 2007 | CSS | MPC |
| 2007 WD5 | 2007 | CSS | MPC |
| 2007 OX | 2007 | CSS–Mount Lemmon Survey | MPC |
| (277810) 2006 FV35 | 2006 | Spacewatch | List |
| (394130) 2006 HY51 | 2006 | LINEAR | List |
| (292220) 2006 SU49 | 2006 | Spacewatch | List |
| (308635) 2005 YU55 | 2005 | R. S. McMillan, Steward Observatory, Kitt Peak, USA | List |
| 2005 WY55 | 2005 | Mount Lemmon Survey | MPC |
| 2005 HC4 | 2005 | LONEOS | MPC |
| (612901) 2004 XP14 | 2004 | LINEAR | MPC |
| (374158) 2004 UL | 2004 | LINEAR | List |
| (357439) 2004 BL86 | 2004 | LINEAR | List |
| (444004) 2004 AS1 | 2004 | LINEAR | List |
| 2003 RW11 | 2003 | James Whitney Young | MPC |
| 2003 BV35 | 2003 | James Whitney Young | MPC |
| (89958) 2002 LY45 | 2002 | LINEAR | List |
| (179806) 2002 TD66 | 2002 | LINEAR | List |
| 54509 YORP | 2000 | LINEAR | List |
| 162173 Ryugu | 1999 | LINEAR | List |
| (137108) 1999 AN10 | 1999 | LINEAR | List |
| 101955 Bennu | 1999 | LINEAR (Bennu is the target of the OSIRIS-REx mission) | List |
| 1998 KY26 | 1998 | Spacewatch | MPC |
| (433953) 1997 XR2 | 1997 | LINEAR | List |
| 65803 Didymos | 1996 | Spacewatch | List |
| 69230 Hermes | 1937 | Karl Reinmuth | List |
| (53319) 1999 JM8 | 1999 | LINEAR | List |
| (52760) 1998 ML14 | 1998 | LINEAR | List |
| (35396) 1997 XF11 | 1997 | Spacewatch | List |
| 25143 Itokawa | 1998 | LINEAR | List |
| (136617) 1994 CC | 1994 | Spacewatch | List |
| (175706) 1996 FG3 | 1996 | R. H. McNaught, Siding Spring Observatory, Australia | List |
| 6489 Golevka | 1991 | Eleanor F. Helin | List |
| 4769 Castalia | 1989 | Eleanor F. Helin | List |
| 4660 Nereus | 1982 | Eleanor F. Helin | List |
| 4581 Asclepius | 1989 | Henry E. Holt, Norman G. Thomas | List |
| 4486 Mithra | 1987 | Eric Elst, Vladimir Shkodrov | List |
| 14827 Hypnos | 1986 | Carolyn S. Shoemaker, Eugene Merle Shoemaker | List |
| 4197 Morpheus | 1982 | Eleanor F. Helin, Eugene Merle Shoemaker | List |
| 4183 Cuno | 1959 | Cuno Hoffmeister | List |
| 4179 Toutatis | 1989 | Christian Pollas | List |
| 4015 Wilson–Harrington | 1979 | Eleanor F. Helin | List |
| 3200 Phaethon | 1983 | Simon F. Green, John K.Davies / IRAS | List |
| 2063 Bacchus | 1977 | Charles T. Kowal | List |
| 1866 Sisyphus | 1972 | Paul Wild | List |
| 1620 Geographos | 1951 | Albert George Wilson, Rudolph Minkowski | List |
| (29075) 1950 DA | 1950 | Carl A. Wirtanen | List |
| 1566 Icarus | 1949 | Walter Baade | List |
| 1685 Toro | 1948 | Carl A. Wirtanen | List |
| 2101 Adonis | 1936 | Eugène Joseph Delporte | List |
| 1862 Apollo | 1932 | Karl Reinmuth | List |
| $^{(A)}$ Discoverer: A discoverer is determined by the MPC when the object is numbered. For unnumbered bodies, the table gives the "first observer". LINEAR: Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research CSS : Catalina Sky Survey Spacewatch, on Kitt Peak, near Tucson, Arizona $^{(B)}$ Classification: 2011 MD is classified as Amor, not Apollo asteroid by the MPC ||||