2212 Hephaistos (1978 SB) is an Apollo asteroid and a NEO discovered on 27 September 1978 by L. I. Chernykh at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory. It is named after the Greek god Hephaestus. It is the largest member of the Hephaistos asteroid group. It makes close approaches to all of the inner planets and will pass 0.048 AU (7.2 million km) from Mercury on 2032-Sep-16.[1]
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Lyudmila Chernykh |
| Discovery site | Crimean Astrophysical Observatory |
| Discovery date | 27 September 1978 |
| Designations | |
| (2212) Hephaistos | |
| Pronunciation | /hɛˈfeɪstɒs/ |
Named after | Hephaestus |
| 1978 SB | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 13 January 2016 (JD 2457400.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 41.13 yr (15022 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.9674 AU (593.51 Gm) |
| Perihelion | 0.35068 AU (52.461 Gm) |
| 2.1590 AU (322.98 Gm) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.83757 |
| 3.17 yr (1158.8 d) | |
| 272.08° | |
| 0° 18m 38.412s / day | |
| Inclination | 11.558° |
| 27.569° | |
| 2023-Feb-26 2019-Dec-25 (previous) | |
| 209.33° | |
| Earth MOID | 0.11610 AU (17.368 Gm) |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | ~6 km[1] |
| 2.85 km | |
| 20 h (0.83 d)[1] | |
| SG[1] | |
| 13.87[1] | |
Other potential members of the Hephaistos group include (85182) 1991 AQ, 4486 Mithra, and D/1766 G1 (Helfenzrieder).[2]
- ^ a b c d e f “2212 Hephaistos (1978 SB)”. JPL Small-Body Database. NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
- ^ Steel, D.; Asher, D. (1994). “P/Helfenzrieder (1766 II) and the Hephaistos group of Earth-crossing asteroids”. The Observatory. 114: 223–226. Bibcode:1994Obs…114..223S.
- 2212 Hephaistos at NeoDyS-2, Near Earth Objects—Dynamic Site
- 2212 Hephaistos at ESA–space situational awareness
- 2212 Hephaistos at the JPL Small-Body Database
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