| Discovery [1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | M. Wolf |
| Discovery site | Heidelberg Obs. |
| Discovery date | 3 January 1918 |
| Designations | |
| (887) Alinda | |
| Pronunciation | /əˈlɪndə/ |
Named after | Alinda (city) or Aboriginal mythology[2] |
| 1918 DB | |
| Orbital characteristics [1] | |
| Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 97.42 yr (35,582 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.8846 AU (581.13 Gm) |
| Perihelion | 1.0731 AU (160.53 Gm) |
| 2.4788 AU (370.82 Gm) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.56711 |
| 3.90 yr (1425.5 d) | |
| 300.87° | |
| 0° 15m 9.144s / day | |
| Inclination | 9.3563° |
| 110.55° | |
| 350.34° | |
| Earth MOID | 0.0907705 AU (13.57907 Gm) |
| Jupiter MOID | 1.32066 AU (197.568 Gm) |
| TJupiter | 3.221 |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 2.1 km | |
| 73.97 h (3.082 d) | |
| 0.31 | |
| 13.4 | |
887 Alinda (/əˈlɪndə/) is a very eccentric, near-Earth asteroid with an Earth minimum orbit intersection distance (MOID) of 0.092 AU. It is the namesake for the Alinda group of asteroids and measures about 4 kilometers in diameter. The stony S-type asteroid was discovered by German astronomer Max Wolf at Heidelberg Observatory on 3 January 1918.
Due to its high eccentricity and semi-major axis of 0.57 and 2.5 AU, respectively, it is a typical Amor III asteroid. It has both, a 1:3 orbital resonance with Jupiter and a close to 4:1 resonance with Earth.[3] As a result of the resonance with Jupiter that has excited the eccentricity of the orbit over the eons, the asteroid's orbit has evolved to spend time outside of the main-belt. It is the namesake for the Alinda group of asteroids.
Alinda makes close approaches to Earth, including a pass in January 2025, where it comes within 0.0821 AU (12,280,000 km; 7,630,000 mi) of Earth.[1]
The asteroid's name had been proposed by H. Kobol. It is uncertain whether it refers to the ancient city of Alinda in modern western Turkey, or to a mythological figure of the Aboriginal Australians.[2]