The Amor asteroids are a group of near-Earth asteroids named after the asteroid 1221 Amor. They approach the orbit of the Earth from beyond, but do not cross it. Most Amors do cross the orbit of Mars. The two moons of Mars, Deimos and Phobos, may be Amor asteroids that were captured by Mars' gravity.
The most famous member of this group is 433 Eros, which was the first asteroid to be orbited and then landed upon by a human probe (NEAR Shoemaker)....
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The Amor asteroids are a group of near-Earth asteroids named after the asteroid 1221 Amor. They approach the orbit of the Earth from beyond, but do not cross it. Most Amors do cross the orbit of Mars. The two moons of Mars, Deimos and Phobos, may be Amor asteroids that were captured by Mars' gravity.
The most famous member of this group is 433 Eros, which was the first asteroid to be orbited and then landed upon by a human probe (NEAR Shoemaker).
There are three general criteria an asteroid must meet to be considered a member of the Amor asteroid class.
These three criteria are boiled down to a single test for membership. If the asteroid has a perihelion between 1.000 AU and 1.300 AU, it is considered an Amor asteroid. Any asteroid with this trait is considered an Amor class asteroid, regardless of its semi-major axis, eccentricity, aphelion, inclination, physical properties, orbital stability, or place of origin.
There are over 1200 Amor asteroids known today. Under 200 of them are...
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