Anteros is an
Amor asteroid, which approach the orbit of Earth from beyond but do not cross it. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.1–1.8
AU once every 1 year and 9 months (625 days). Its orbit has an
eccentricity of 0.26 and an
inclination of 9
° with respect to the
ecliptic.[1]
Several rotational
lightcurves of Anteros were obtained from photometric observations by
Brian Warner,
Petr Pravec, the
Palomar Transient Factory and others since the 1980s.[5] One of the best-rated and most recent lightcurves was obtained at the Palmer Divide Station (716) in December 2013, and gave a
rotation period of 2.867 hours with a brightness variation of 0.1
magnitude, which indicates that Anteros has a nearly spheroidal shape (U=3).[10]
Diameter and albedo
According to the EXPLORENEOs survey carried out by the
Spitzer Space Telescope, Anteros measures between 2.38 and 2.43 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has an
albedo of 0.138 to 0.170.[6][7][8] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.18 and derives a diameter of 2.0 kilometers with an
absolute magnitude of 15.89.[5]
Naming
This
minor planet was named after the Greek god
Anteros, avenger of unrequited love and punisher of those who scorn love and the advances of others. The asteroid's name may have been chosen because its orbit is similar to the asteroid
433 Eros, and in Greek mythology, Anteros was said to be the twin brother of
Eros.[3] The official
naming citation was published by the
Minor Planet Center on 15 October 1977 (M.P.C. 4237).[22]
^Koehn, Bruce W.; Bowell, Edward G.; Skiff, Brian A.; Sanborn, Jason J.; McLelland, Kyle P.; Pravec, Petr; et al. (October 2014). "Lowell Observatory Near-Earth Asteroid Photometric Survey (NEAPS) - 2009 January through 2009 June". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 41 (4): 286–300.
Bibcode:
2014MPBu...41..286K.
ISSN1052-8091.
^Wisniewski, W. Z.; Michalowski, T. M.; Harris, A. W.; McMillan, R. S. (March 1995). "Photoelectric Observations of 125 Asteroids". Abstracts of the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. 26: 1511.
Bibcode:
1995LPI....26.1511W.
^Pravec, Petr; Harris, Alan W.; Kusnirák, Peter; Galád, Adrián; Hornoch, Kamil (September 2012). "Absolute magnitudes of asteroids and a revision of asteroid albedo estimates from WISE thermal observations". Icarus. 221 (1): 365–387.
Bibcode:
2012Icar..221..365P.
doi:
10.1016/j.icarus.2012.07.026.
^Pravec, P.; Wolf, M.; Sarounová, L.; Mottola, S.; Erickson, A.; Hahn, G.; et al. (December 1997). "The Near-Earth Objects Follow-Up Program". Icarus. 130 (2): 275–286.
Bibcode:
1997Icar..130..275P.
doi:
10.1006/icar.1997.5816.