(1620) Geographos

Template: Infobox Asteroid / Maintenance / Error 1

(1620 ) Near-Earth Asteroid Geographos is a ( asteroid ) from the group of Apollo asteroids. These are celestial bodies whose orbits may cross Earth's path.

The asteroid was discovered on September 14, 1951 at Mount Palomar Observatory. The name means geographer and the appointment was made in honor of the National Geographic Society.

Geographos moves between 0.8276 AU ( perihelion ) and 1.6633 AU ( aphelion ) in about 508 days around the sun. The orbital eccentricity is 0.3355, the orbit is inclined at 13.341 ° to the ecliptic.

In 1994 conducted radar observations showed that it is 1.5 km in extent Geographos an elongated object from 5 × 2 ×. The asteroid rotates in about 5 hours and 13 minutes around its own axis.

The U.S. space probe Clementine should visit Geographos after their stay at the Moon. Due to an error in the drive system, however, the mission ended before she reached him.