Aten objects are a subset of near-Earth asteroids (see near-Earth object), distinguished from the Apollo objects (q.v.) and Amor objects (q.v.) by orbital characteristics. The Aten objects have semimajor axes smaller than that of the Earth (i.e. less than 1 AU). Since most have significant orbital eccentricities, these are a class of Earth-crossing asteroids. They are named for a member of the class, asteroid 2062 Aten. No clear compositional trends are present in the Aten objects; they appear to have originated in multiple source regions. Since the projected dynamical lifetimes of objects in near-Earth space are, at about 108 years, much shorter than the age of the solar system, they must be replenished from some source. The main asteroid belt is the most likely source region (Binzel et al., 1992).
Fewer than 100 Aten objects are known (McFadden, Tholen and Veeder, 1989), although this number will increase in future as there are active programs under way to detect near-Earth objects...
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Bibliography
Binzel, R. P., Xu, S., Bus S. J and Bowell E. (1992) Origins for the near-Earth asteroids. Science, 257, 779–81.
Matthews, R. (1992) A rocky watch for Earthbound asteroids. Science, 255, 1204–5.
McFadden, L.-A., Tholen, D. J. and Veeder G. J. (1989) Physical properties of Aten, Apollo, and Amor asteroids, in. Asteroids II (eds R. P. Binzel, T. Gehrels and M. Matthews) Tucson: University of Arizona, pp. 442–67.
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Shirley, J.H. (1997). Aten object . In: Encyclopedia of Planetary Science. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4520-4_32
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4520-4_32
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