EntityQ2265762· pop 36· linked from 280 articles

Q2265762

binary asteroid in the Apollo group

Key facts

Discovered by: Spacewatch
Discovery site: Kitt Peak National Observatory
Discovery date: 11 April 1996
Pronunciation: / ˈ d ɪ d ɪ m ɒ s /
Named after: Greek word for " Twin "
Alternative designations: 1996 GT
Minor planet category: NEO · PHA , Apollo (2022)
Observation arc: 24.82 years (9,066 days)
Aphelion: 2.2753 AU
Perihelion: 1.0131 AU
Semi major axis: 1.6442 AU
Orbital period sidereal: 2.11 yr (770 days)
Mean motion: 0° 28 2.28 / day
Inclination: 3.4079°
Longitude of ascending node: 73.196°
Argument of perihelion: 319.32°
Known satellites: 1 ( Dimorphos )
Earth moid: 0.0403 AU (15.7 LD )

via Wikipedia infobox

Article

65803 Didymos (provisional designation 1996 GT) is a sub-kilometer asteroid and binary system that is classified as a potentially hazardous asteroid and near-Earth object of the Apollo group. The asteroid was discovered in 1996 by the Spacewatch survey at Kitt Peak, and its small 160-meter minor-planet moon, named Dimorphos, was discovered in 2003. Due to its binary nature, the asteroid was then named Didymos, the Greek word for 'twin'.

Didymos's moon, Dimorphos, was the target of the DART mission to test the viability of asteroid impact avoidance by collision with a spacecraft, while the impact was witnessed by LICIACube, a flyby CubeSat component of the mission.