Unusual Minor Planets
The lists of unusual objects accessible from this page include both close-approach and distant objects. Note that the definitions of Aten, Apollo and Amor objects differ between different groups. The definitions used here are that: Atens have semimajor axes less than 1.0 AU; Apollos have perihelion distances less than 1.0 AU and semimajor axes greater than 1.0 AU; and Amors have perihelion distances between 1.0 and 1.3 AU. Centaur objects have perihelia beyond the orbit of Jupiter and semimajor axes inside the orbit of Neptune. Transneptunian objects have orbits with semimajor axes beyond the orbit of Neptune--some of these objects, generally assumed to be in librations with Neptune, have perihelion distances inside the orbit of Neptune.At the present time, these lists contain entries for the following numbers of objects:
- 9903 close approach
- 1638 distant objects
- 457 other unusual objects
- 783 Atens
- 4951 Apollos
- 4169 Amors
- 378 Centaurs and Scattered-Disk Objects
- 1260 transneptunians
The close-approacher lists are here:
- Atens (by designation or by perihelion distance) (sortable table format)
- Apollos (by designation or by perihelion distance) (sortable table format)
- Amors (by designation or by perihelion distance) (sortable table format)
The distant-object lists are here (ordered by designation):
The Trojan lists are here (ordered by designation):
- Earth (sortable table format)
- Mars (sortable table format)
- Jupiter (sortable table format)
- Neptune (sortable table format)
Here is a list of other unusual objects (sortable table format) that do not fit into any of the above categories.
The 1408 Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (the minor planets with the greatest potential for close approaches to the earth) (sortable table format) include those objects with H brighter than or equal to V = 22.0 and an Earth MOID (see explanation) less than 0.05 AU.
This page was last updated on 2013 June 19.
