1865 Cerberus

Orbit and classification

Cerberus orbits the Sun at a distance of 0.6–1.6 AU once every 1 years and 1 month (410 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.47 and an inclination of 16° with respect to the ecliptic.

The Apollo asteroid has an Earth minimum orbital intersection distance of 0.1567 AU, which corresponds to 61 lunar distances. It passes within 30 million km of the Earth seven times from the year 1900 to the year 2100, each time at a distance of 24.4 to 25.7 million km. It also makes close approaches to Mars and Venus.

Physical characteristics

In the Tholen and SMASS taxonomy, Cerberus is a common stony S-type asteroid, composed of 65% plagioclase and 35% pyroxene. It has a rotation period of 6.804 hours and a geometric albedo of 0.220. With a maximum lightcurve range of 2.3, Cerberus may be cigar shaped like 1I/Oumuamua.

Naming

This minor planet is named after the figure from Greek mythology, Cerberus, a three-headed dog that guarded the entrance to Hades, the Underworld. His capture marked the last of the twelve labors of Hercules. It is also the name of an extinct constellation, Cerberus, now contained in the eastern part of Hercules. (It should not be confused with Kerberos, a moon of the dwarf planet Pluto.) The official was published by the Minor Planet Center on 20 December 1974 (M.P.C. 3758).

References

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References

1. R.W. Chapman (1939) ''Adjectives from Proper Names'', Clarendon Press, Oxford, p. 56
2. {{OED. Cerberean