6239 Minos

6239 Minos (prov. designation: 1989 QF) is a bright sub-kilometer near-Earth object, classified as a potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo group. It was discovered on 31 August 1989, by American astronomer couple Carolyn and Eugene Shoemaker at the Palomar Observatory in California. The asteroid has a rotation period of 3.6 hours and measures approximately 0.5 kilometers (0.3 miles) in diameter. It makes frequent close approaches to Mars, Earth, and Venus.^[3]

6239 Minos

Discovery
Discovered by	C. Shoemaker E. Shoemaker
Discovery site	Palomar Obs.
Discovery date	31 August 1989
Designations
MPC designation	(6239) Minos
Pronunciation	/ˈmaɪnɒs, -əs/[1][2]
Named after	Minos
Alternative designations	1989 QF
Minor planet category	PHA[3]
Orbital characteristics[3]
Epoch 13 January 2016 (JD 2457400.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	12039 days (32.96 yr)
Aphelion	1.6268 AU (243.37 Gm)
Perihelion	0.67620 AU (101.158 Gm)
Semi-major axis	1.1515 AU (172.26 Gm)
Eccentricity	0.41276
Orbital period (sidereal)	1.24 yr (451.32 d)
Mean anomaly	191.37°
Mean motion	0° 47m 51.576s / day
Inclination	3.9450°
Longitude of ascending node	344.618°
Argument of perihelion	239.663°
Earth MOID	0.0261927 AU (10 LD)
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter	474 m[4]
Synodic rotation period	3.5558 h[3]
Geometric albedo	0.57[4]
Absolute magnitude (H)	18.5