1221 Amor

1221 Amor is an asteroid and near-Earth object on an eccentric orbit, approximately in diameter. It is the namesake of the Amor asteroids, the second-largest subgroup of near-Earth objects. It was discovered by Eugène Delporte at the Uccle Observatory in 1932, the first time that an asteroid was seen to approach Earth so closely. The assumed S-type asteroid is one of few low-numbered asteroids for which no rotation period has been determined. It was assigned the provisional designation ' and named for Cupid, also known as "Amor" in Latin, the Roman equivalent of the Greek god Eros.

Discovery

On 12 March 1932, Belgian astronomer Eugène Delporte photographed ''Amor'' at the Royal Observatory of Belgium in Uccle, 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. The body's observation arc begins with its official discovery observation on 12 March 1932, when it was observed at the Uccle and Heidelberg observatories simultaneously.

Orbit and classification

''Amor'' is the namesake of the Amor asteroid, a subgroup of near-Earth asteroids that approach the orbit of Earth from beyond, but do not cross it. Next to the Apollo group, the Amors are the second largest group of near-Earth objects with more than 7,000 known members. As with many members of this group, ''Amor'' is also a Mars-crosser, crossing the orbit of the Red Planet at 1.66 AU.

It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.08–2.76  AU once every 2 years and 8 months (971 days; semi-major axis of 1.92 AU). Its orbit has a high eccentricity of 0.44 and an inclination of 12 ° with respect to the ecliptic.

Close encounters

''Amor'' has an Earth minimum orbital intersection distance of which corresponds to 41.6 lunar distances. In March 1940, it approached Earth to , its closest approach of all close encounters since 1900. Only in March 2129, it will approach Earth at a similar distance of .

Naming

This minor planet was named after the Roman god of love, Cupid, also known as Amor in Latin, and the Roman equivalent of the Greek god Eros. The near-Earth asteroids 433 Eros and 763 Cupido are also named after the god of love. The official naming citation was mentioned in ''The Names of the Minor Planets'' by Paul Herget in 1955 ().

Physical characteristics

''Amor'' is an assumed, stony S-type asteroid.

Rotation period

As of 2018, no rotational lightcurve of ''Amor'' has been obtained from photometric observations. The body's rotation period, pole and shape remain unknown.

Diameter and albedo

According to Tom Gehrels publication ''Hazards due to Comets and Asteroids'' from 1994 (pp. 540–543), ''Amor'' measures 1.0 kilometer in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.15. The ''Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link'' assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 0.857 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 17.7.

References

External links

Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB)
query form

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Dictionary of Minor Planet Names
Google books
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001221
Discoveries by Eugène Joseph Delporte
Minor planets named from Roman mythology
Named minor planets
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