3360 Syrinx facts for kids

3360 Syrinx is a fascinating asteroid that travels through our Solar System. It was first spotted in 1981 and was originally called 1981 VA. This space rock is known as an Apollo asteroid because its orbit crosses Earth's path. It is also a Mars-crosser asteroid, meaning it crosses the orbit of Mars.

Discovering Asteroid Syrinx

This special asteroid was found on November 4, 1981. It was discovered by two astronomers, Eleanor F. Helin and R. Scott Dunbar. They used powerful telescopes to find this rocky object in space.

Syrinx's Journey Through Space

Syrinx is about 1.8 kilometers (1.1 miles) wide. It takes approximately 3.87 Earth years to complete one trip around the Sun. Its path is quite oval-shaped, which means it sometimes comes closer to the Sun and sometimes moves farther away.

Syrinx will make several close approaches to Earth in the 21st century. For example, it will come within about 33 million kilometers (20 million miles) in 2039. It will also pass by Earth at about 40 million kilometers (25 million miles) in 2070. Another close pass will happen in 2085, at about 24 million kilometers (15 million miles).

Syrinx has already had some close encounters. On September 20, 2012, it passed Earth at a distance of about 62.7 million kilometers (39 million miles). At that time, it looked its brightest to us, though still too dim to see without a telescope. Later, on November 23, 2012, it appeared even brighter when it was on the opposite side of Earth from the Sun.

The Alinda Family Connection

Syrinx belongs to a group of asteroids called the Alinda family. These asteroids have a special orbital relationship with Jupiter. Their orbits are in a "3:1 resonance" with Jupiter. This means that for every one orbit Jupiter makes, an Alinda asteroid like Syrinx makes three orbits. This special dance with Jupiter has made their orbits very oval-shaped over a very long time. Because of this, Alinda asteroids often come close to Jupiter, Earth, and Venus.

A Name for a Space Rock

For many years, 3360 Syrinx was the lowest-numbered asteroid that had not yet been given a proper name. Asteroids are usually named after people, places, or characters from myths. This changed over time as other asteroids were named. In November 2006, another asteroid, 3708 Socus, took on this distinction. Then, in May 2021, the asteroid (4596) 1981 QB became the lowest-numbered unnamed asteroid. This shows how astronomers continue to explore and name objects in our vast universe!

See also

• List of asteroids
• Syrinx