What is 3200 Phaethon?
{{Infobox Planet | bgcolour=#FFFFC0 | name=3200 Phaethon | image = Asteroid Phaethon 25dec2010 stack.jpg | caption = Asteroid (3200) Phaethon imaged on 25 Dec 2010 with the 37 cm F14 Cassegrain telescope of [[Winer Observatory]], Sonoita (MPC 857) by Marco Langbroek. | discovered= 11 October 1983 | alt_names=1983 TB | named_after = [[Phaëton]] | mp_category=[[Apollo asteroid]] | epoch=July 14, 2004 ([[Julian day|JD]] 2453200.5) | semimajor=1.271 AU (190.189 Gm) | perihelion=0.140 AU (20.922 Gm) | aphelion=2.403 [[Astronomical unit|AU]] (359.456 [[Giga|G]]m) | eccentricity=0.890 | period=1.43 [[Julian year (astronomy)|a]] (523.586 [[day|d]]) | inclination=22.169[[degree (angle)|°]] | mean_anomaly=200.798° | avg_speed=19.98 km/[[second|s]] | dimensions=5.1 km<ref name=jpldata/> | mass=1.4×10<sup>14</sup> [[kilogram|kg]]}} '''3200 Phaethon''', sometimes incorrectly spelt '''Phaeton''', is an [[Apollo asteroid]] and a dead [[comet]].<ref name=jpldata>{{cite web|date=2012-02-25|title=JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 3200 Phaethon (1983 TB)|url=http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=3200|publisher=Jet Propulsion Laboratory|access-date=2012-06-19}}</ref> It was announced on 14 October 1983 in IAUC 3878, with optical confirmation that it looks like an [[asteroid]]. It was the first asteroid to be found by a spacecraft. It measures 5.10&nbsp;km in [[diameter]]. Phaethon approaches the [[Sun]] closer than any other numbered asteroid. Its [[perihelion]] (closest approach to the Sun) is only 0.140 [[astronomical unit|AU]] – less than half [[Mercury (planet)|Mercury]]'s perihelion distance. It is a [[Mercury-crosser asteroid|Mercury-]], [[Venus-crosser asteroid|Venus-]], [[Earth-crosser asteroid|Earth-]] and [[Mars-crosser asteroid|Mars-crosser]]. The surface temperature at perihelion could reach ~1025 K, or 1400 F. For this reason, it was named after the [[Greek mythology|Greek myth]] of [[Phaëton]], son of the sun god [[Helios]]. Phaethon approached to 18.1&nbsp;Gm on 10 December 2007. It will draw nearer in