1620 Geographos

1620 Geographos
1620 Geographos from AsteroidPack_v1.00.zip in Orbiter 2003P2
Designation
Name	1620 Geographos
Reference body	Sun
Number of satellites	0
Planetary mean orbits
Epoch	2006
Semimajor axis (a)	186315638173.388 m (1.24544311568598 AU)
Eccentricity (e)	0.335415102834536
Inclination (i)	0.232845464045468 radian (13.3410623685705°)
Longitude of the ascending node (LAN, ☊)	5.88689533166951 radian 337.29425693993°
Longitude of periapsis (ϖ)	10.7178284350264 radian 614.086334872317°
Mean longitude (L)	12.5060362286656 radian 716.543094340244°
Rotational Elements
Sidereal Rotation Period	18802.8 seconds (5.223 hours)
Sidereal Rotation Offset	0
Obliquity	0.1 radians 0°
Selected physical parameters
Mean radius	3450 m
Mass	4×1012 kg
Equatorial gravity	0.000022 m/s2
Escape velocity	0.0004 m/s
Gravity at surface	Geographos 1% Sun 99%
Note	*Elements given are from Geographos.cfg file.

1620 Geographos is a Near-Earth object discovered in 1951 by Albert George Wilson and w:Rudolph Minkowski at Palomar and is named in honor of the w:National Geographic Society.

Geographos was to be visited by the Clementine mission, but it failed to reach the body.

Geographos in Orbiter

1620 Geographos was modeled in Orbiter as a somewhat potato shaped object about 5 km on the longest dimension. Because the visual surface of Geographos is well below the hard radius of the body, landing anywhere on the body's radius you end up well above the visual surface, except on the ends where you can land below the visual. Because even at the surface, geographos only provides 1% of the local gravity, the Sun providing the other 99%, a ship cannot orbit Geographos, it can only fly along with it in solar orbit, maneuvering in its vicinity. A ship also cannot land and remain on the hard surface, it will immediately drift off the surface. When maneuvering in the vicinity, have SurfaceMFD up so that the pilot can monitor the ship's altitude above the surface as it cannot be seen. If you do land inside the visual body, you may be able to see the Sun through the skin. The Delta-glider's landing light works on Geographos.

Orbiter versions and add-ons which include 1620 Geographos
Add-on	Source	Version	Author	Type	Release Date	Compatibility	Wiki article
Asteroid Pack 1.00	O-F Resources	2004-11-21	Nighthawke	Scenery	21 November 2004

Gallery

• 
  1620 Geographos from AsteroidPack_v1.00.zip in Orbiter 2003P2
• 
  3D model of 1620 Geographos based on light-curve model
  from Wikimedia Commons
• 
  Animation of the orbit of Geographos as compared to Venus, Earth and Mars from 2010 to 2020.
  From Wikimedia Commons.