433 Eros (pronounced /ˈɪərɒs/ IRR-os) is the first discovered Near-Earth asteroid, named after the Greek god of love, Eros (Greek Ἔρως). It is an S-type asteroid approximately 34.4×11.2×11.2 km in size, the second-largest near-Earth asteroid (NEA) after 1036 Ganymed, belonging to the Amors. It is a Mars-crosser asteroid and was the first asteroid that was known to come within the orbit of Mars. Eros is one of the few NEAs with a maximum diameter greater than 10 km. It is believed to be larger than the impactor that created Chicxulub Crater in the Yucatán, which has been linked to the extinction of the dinosaurs
Eros was visited by the NEAR Shoemaker probe, which orbited it, taking extensive photographs of its surface, and, on February 12, 2001, at the end of its mission, landed on the asteroid's surface using its maneuvering jets.
Objects in an orbit like Eros can exist for only a few hundred million years before the orbit is perturbed by gravitational interactions. Simulations suggest that Eros may evolve into an Earth-crosser within 2 million years.
Discovered by Carl Gustav Witt
Discovery date August 13, 1898
Designations
Alternate name 1898 DQ; 1956 PC
Minor planet
category Amor,
Mars-crosser asteroid
Orbital characteristics
Epoch October 22, 2004 (JD 2453300.5)
Aphelion 266.762 Gm (1.783 AU)
Perihelion 169.548 Gm (1.133 AU)
Semi-major axis 218.155 Gm (1.458 AU)
Eccentricity 0.223
Orbital period 643.219 d (1.76 a)
Average orbital speed 24.36 km/s
Mean anomaly 320.215°
Inclination 10.829°
Longitude of ascending node 304.401°
Argument of perihelion 178.664°
