Asteroid
3200 Phaethon
A "rock comet" that comes closer to the Sun than Mercury (0.14 AU). It is the parent body of the Geminid meteor shower seen every December and the target of JAXA's DESTINY+ probe.
| Type | Asteroid |
|---|---|
| Parent body | Sun |
| Radius | 3 km · 4.55 × 10⁻⁴ R⊕ |
| Mass | 1.400 × 10¹⁴ kg · 2.34 × 10⁻¹¹ M⊕ |
| Mean density | 1.37 g/cm³ |
| Rotation period | 3.6 hours |
| Orbital radius | 1.27 AU (Sun) |
| Eccentricity | 0.890 |
| Orbital period | 524 days |
| Discovery | 1983, IRAS |
| Perihelion | 0.14 AU |
| Meteor shower | Geminids (13–14 December) |