3200 Phaethon

Common card · No. 491594

3200 Phaethon, provisionally designated 1983 TB and previously sometimes erroneously spelled Phæton, is an active Apollo asteroid with an orbit that brings it closer to the Sun than any other named asteroid (though there are numerous unnamed asteroids with smaller perihelia, such as (137924) 2000 BD19). For this reason, it was named after the Greek Hero, Phaëthon, son of the sun god Helios. It is 5.8 km (3.6 mi) in diameter and is the parent body of the Geminids meteor shower of mid-December. With an observation arc of 35+ years, it has a very well determined orbit. The 2017 Earth approach distance of about 10 million km was known with an accuracy of ±700 m.

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