General · EdgepediaOctober 21, 20263 min read

10247 Amphiaraos

10247 Amphiaraos (provisional designation 6629 P-L) is a large Jupiter Trojan asteroid, a minor planet that shares Jupiter's orbit around the Sun, librating around the leading L4 Lagrange point (gravity-stable orbital spot 60° ahead of Jupiter) as a member of the Greek camp. It is about 27 km in diameter, takes roughly 12 years to complete one orbit, and has been observed since September 1960.¹

Key fact	Detail
Classification	Jupiter Trojan, Greek camp (L4); spectral types X and D in Pan-STARRS and SDSS-MOC classifications, C assumed by the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link¹^•²
Orbit	Semi-major axis 5.285 AU, eccentricity 0.0085, inclination 4.19°, period 4,440 days (12.16 years)¹
Rotation	34.26 ± 0.01 hours with a lightcurve amplitude of 0.55 magnitudes, from March 2012 photometry; Space Reference lists 26.24 hours¹
Observations	Orbit based on 2,611 observations from September 24, 1960 to May 7, 2023¹

Orbit and classification

Amphiaraos is a Trojan asteroid, one of the bodies trapped in a stable orbit associated with Jupiter, 60 degrees ahead of or behind the planet along its path. The Greek camp occupies the leading L4 point and the Trojan camp the trailing L5 point, and Amphiaraos belongs to the Greek camp.²^•³

Its orbit lies between 5.24 AU at perihelion and 5.33 AU at aphelion, with a semi-major axis of 5.285 AU, an eccentricity of 0.0085, and an inclination of 4.19 degrees; the orbital period is 4,440 days, or 12.16 years, at an average orbital speed of 12.95 km/s.¹ Orbital simulations conducted by NASA JPL's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies do not show any close approaches to Earth, and the asteroid is not considered a viable target for human exploration by the NHATS study.¹

The orbit was constrained by 2,611 observations recorded by the IAU Minor Planet Center, spanning from September 24, 1960 to the most recent official observation on May 7, 2023.¹

Physical characteristics

Spectral type. Amphiaraos is classified as an X-type and D-type asteroid in SDSS-based taxonomy and in the Pan-STARRS survey, with a C-type classification assumed by the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link.

Rotation. The Space Reference database instead lists a rotation period of 26.24 hours.¹

Dynamics

A study of the resonant structure of Jupiter's Trojan population, published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, listed Amphiaraos in its catalog of Trojans whose long-term motion is analyzed for secular resonances, with a tabulated inclination of 3.8 degrees.⁴ An orbital study of the L4 Trojan also plotted the libration of Amphiaraos's semi-major axis and mean longitude relative to Jupiter, finding a main libration period of about 150 years; such libration is the back-and-forth oscillation that keeps a Trojan clustered near the Lagrange point instead of drifting along Jupiter's orbit.⁵

Name

Like the other Trojan minor planets, Amphiaraos is named for a hero of the Trojan War cycle; the Greeks of the conflict give their names to bodies librating around L4, and the asteroid appears with the Greek-camp marker in a catalog of Trojan designations.² The eponym is Amphiaraos, venerated in ancient Greece as a healer and protector of Attika, whose sanctuary, the Amphiareion at Oropos, drew worshipers seeking cures and oracular guidance.⁶

Context among the Trojans

The Jupiter Trojans are remnants of the early solar system, and NASA's Lucy spacecraft, launched in October 2021, is the first mission to explore them, flying by eight Trojan asteroids in 2027, 2028, and 2033. Amphiaraos is not among the mission's targets, which include Eurybates, Polymele, Leucus, Orus, and Patroclus.⁷

References

Topic: Encyclopedia › Places and geography › Extraterrestrial places › Small bodies of the Solar System › Jupiter Trojans and other dynamical groups › Greek-camp Jupiter Trojans › Figures of the Theban cycle

Initially written Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 25, 2026

Notice something wrong?