1036 Ganymed

1036 Ganymed, provisional designation 1924 TD, is a stony asteroid on a highly eccentric orbit, classified as a near-Earth object of the Amor group.

It was discovered by German astronomer Walter Baade at the Bergedorf Observatory in Hamburg on 23 October 1924, and named after Ganymede from Greek mythology.

[1][2] With a diameter of approximately 35 kilometers (22 miles), Ganymed is the largest of all near-Earth objects but does not cross Earth's orbit.

[18][19][20][14][21][22][23][24][25] Analysis of the best-rated lightcurves obtained by American photometrist Frederick Pilcher at his Organ Mesa Observatory (G50) in New Mexico during 2011 gave a rotation period of 10.297 hours with a consolidated brightness amplitude between 0.28 and 0.31 magnitude (U=3-/3/3).

[26][27][28] In 1998, radar observations of Ganymed by the Arecibo radio telescope produced images of the asteroid, revealing a roughly spherical object.

[29] 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.

Orbit of Ganymed (blue), with the inner planets and Jupiter (outermost).