3360 Syrinx (original) (raw)

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Apollo asteroid

(3360) Syrinx

Discovery
Discovered by Eleanor F. HelinR. Scott Dunbar
Discovery date 4 November 1981
Designations
MPC designation (3360) Syrinx
Pronunciation [1]
Named after Syrinx
Alternative designations 1981 VA
Minor planet category ApolloMars crosserAlinda family
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch 13 January 2016 (JD 2457400.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc 12556 days (34.38 yr)
Aphelion 4.30603 AU (644.173 Gm)
Perihelion 0.62791 AU (93.934 Gm)
Semi-major axis 2.46697 AU (369.053 Gm)
Eccentricity 0.74547
Orbital period (sidereal) 3.87 yr (1415.3 d)
Mean anomaly 315.35°
Mean motion 0° 15m 15.732s / day
Inclination 21.154°
Longitude of ascending node 242.561°
Argument of perihelion 63.457°
Earth MOID 0.107877 AU (16.1382 Gm)
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 1.8 km
Mean radius 0.9 km
Geometric albedo 0.17
Absolute magnitude (H) 15.9

3360 Syrinx (originally designated 1981 VA) is an Apollo and Mars crosser asteroid discovered in 1981. It approaches Earth to within 40 Gm three times in the 21st century: 33 Gm in 2039, 40 Gm in 2070, and 24 Gm in 2085.

On 20 September 2012, it closely encountered Earth at a distance of 0.4192 AU (62,710,000 km; 38,970,000 mi),[2] peaking in brightness at an apparent magnitude of 17.0.[3] In opposition on 23 November 2012, it brightened to magnitude 16.0.[3]

It is a member of the Alinda group of asteroids with a 3:1 resonance with Jupiter that has excited the eccentricity of the orbit over the eons.[4] As an Alinda asteroid it makes approaches to Jupiter, Earth, and Venus.[2]

For a time, it was the lowest numbered asteroid that had not been named. In November 2006, this distinction passed to 3708 Socus, and in May 2021 to (4596) 1981 QB.[_citation needed_]

  1. ^ "syrinx". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  2. ^ a b c "JPL Close-Approach Data: 3360 Syrinx (1981 VA)" (2009-01-22 last obs). Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  3. ^ a b "NEODys (3360) Syrinx Ephemerides for 20 September 2012". Department of Mathematics, University of Pisa, Italy. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  4. ^ John S Lewis (3 August 2015). "The Alinda Family of Asteroids". Retrieved 26 June 2019.

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