1036 Ganymed

Ganymed is an Amor asteroid, a subgroup of the near-Earth asteroids that approach the orbit of Earth from beyond, but do not cross it. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.2–4.1 AU about once every 4 years and 4 months (i.e., 52 months or 1,589 days; semi-major axis of 2.66 AU). Its orbit has a high eccentricity of 0.53 and an inclination of 27° with respect to the ecliptic. Close approaches Earth approach Ganymed has a minimum orbit intersection distance with Earth of , or 134 lunar distance. Mars approach Due to the high eccentricity of its orbit, Ganymed is also a Mars-crosser, intersecting the orbit of the Red Planet. On , it will pass at a distance of from Mars. == Name ==

The minor planet of Ganymed was named after Ganymede from Greek mythology, using the German spelling ("Ganymed"). Ganymede was a Trojan prince abducted by Zeus to serve as a cup-bearer to the Greek gods. The name had previously also been given to Jupiter's third moon, "Ganymede", which was discovered in 1610 by Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei. == Physical characteristics ==

Owing to its early discovery date, Ganymed has a rich observational history. A 1931 paper published the absolute magnitude, based on observations to date, as 9.24, Polarimetric observations conducted by Japanese astronomers concluded that there was a weak correlation between the object's light- and polarimetry curve as a function of rotation angle. Because polarization is dependent on surface terrain and composition, rather than the observed size of the object like the lightcurve, this suggests that the surface features of the asteroid are roughly uniform over its observed surface. == References ==