1221 Amor
1221 Amor is an asteroid and near-Earth object on an eccentric orbit, approximately in diameter. It is the namesake of the Amor asteroids, the second-largest subgroup of near-Earth objects. It was discovered by Eugène Delporte at the Uccle Observatory in 1932, the first time that an asteroid was seen to approach Earth so closely. The assumed S-type asteroid is one of few low-numbered asteroids for which no rotation period has been determined. It was assigned the provisional designation and named for Cupid, also known as "Amor" in Latin, the Roman equivalent of the Greek god Eros.
Discovery
On 12 March 1932, Belgian astronomer Eugène Delporte photographed Amor at the Royal Observatory of Belgium in Uccle, as it approached Earth to within 16 million kilometers. This was the first time that an asteroid was seen to approach Earth so closely. The body's observation arc begins with its official discovery observation on 12 March 1932, when it was observed at the Uccle and Heidelberg observatories simultaneously.Orbit and classification
Amor is the namesake of the Amor asteroid, a subgroup of near-Earth asteroids that approach the orbit of Earth from beyond, but do not cross it. Next to the Apollo group, the Amors are the second largest group of near-Earth objects with more than 7,000 known members. As with many members of this group, Amor is also a Mars-crosser, crossing the orbit of the Red Planet at 1.66 AU.It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.08–2.76 AU once every 2 years and 8 months. Its orbit has a high eccentricity of 0.44 and an inclination of 12° with respect to the ecliptic.