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:

6226 close approach
1336 distant objects
287 other unusual objects

More specifically:

514 Atens
3109 Apollos
2603 Amors
243 Centaurs and Scattered-Disk Objects
1093 transneptunians

The close-approach lists are here:

Atens (by designation or by perihelion distance)
Apollos (by designation or by perihelion distance)
Amors (by designation or by perihelion distance)

The distant-object lists are here (ordered by designation):

The Trojan lists are here (ordered by designation):

Here is a list of other unusual objects that do not fit into any of the above categories.

The 1058 Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (the minor planets with the greatest potential for close approaches to the earth) 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 list was last updated on 2009 July 3.

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