(162173) Ryugu Apollo
Discovered on 10 May 1999 by LINEAR at Socorro.
Ryugu is the undersea palace of the Dragon God. In a Japanese legend, a fisherman was rewarded with a visit to Ryugu and brought back a box with a secret. The spaceprobe Hayabusa 2 will visit this asteroid and bring back a capsule containing surface samples.Naming citation (MPC batch dated 2015-09-28), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Ryugu is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Ryugu is 1.41 au from the Sun and 2.01 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 162173 |
| Provisional designation | 1999 JU3 |
| Orbit class | Apollo · near-Earth · potentially hazardous |
| Diameter | 0.896 km (#17,418 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0450 |
| Rotation period | 7.63 hours |
| Spectral type | Cb |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 19.55 |
| Orbital period | 1.30 years |
| Semi-major axis | 1.19 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 0.963 – 1.42 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.191 |
| Inclination | 5.87° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.000539 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 10 May 1999
- (11219) Benbohn
- (11225) Borden
- (11227) Ksenborisova
- (11228) Botnick
- (11229) Brookebowers
- (11230) Deschaffer
- (11231) Schiavo
- (11413) Catanach
- (11414) Allanchu
- (12117) Meagmessina
- (16048) Eddiedai
- (16049) D'Amore