List of Earth-crossing asteroids

An Earth-crosser is a near-Earth asteroid whose orbit crosses that of Earth as seen from the ecliptic pole of Earth's orbit. These asteroids are interesting because their paths go through the area where Earth travels around the Sun. Some of these are called Aten asteroids because their orbits are smaller than Earth’s, while others are called Apollo asteroids because their orbits are larger. There is also a group known as Amor asteroids, which have orbits that don’t quite reach Earth.

An asteroid with an Earth-crossing orbit doesn’t always mean it will hit Earth. Many of these asteroids travel on paths that are tilted compared to Earth’s orbit, so they may never actually meet our planet. Scientists pay special attention to certain Earth-crossing asteroids that might come close to Earth in the future. These are called potentially hazardous asteroids (PHAs). A PHA is defined by how close its orbit comes to Earth’s (less than 0.05 AU) and how bright it is.

Even if an asteroid’s orbit comes close to Earth, this does not guarantee a collision. The paths of these asteroids can change due to the gravitational pull of planets they pass near. For example, 99942 Apophis is expected to pass very close to Earth in 2029, coming under the height of Earth’s geostationary satellites. Another interesting Earth-crosser is 3753 Cruithne, which has an orbit that matches Earth’s year-long journey around the Sun.

List

Earth-crossing asteroids are space rocks whose paths around the Sun cross Earth's path. These asteroids are divided into two groups: Aten asteroids, which have orbits closer to the Sun than Earth's, and Apollo asteroids, which have orbits stretching farther out from the Sun than Earth's.

Some known Earth-crossing asteroids include:

• 1566 Icarus
• 1862 Apollo
• 2062 Aten
• 3200 Phaethon
• 99942 Apophis
• 524522 Zoozve

These asteroids are watched closely by scientists to understand their orbits and ensure they do not pose a risk to Earth.