1566 Icarus (/ˈɪkərəs/ IK-ə-rəs) is an Apollo asteroid (a subclass of near-Earth asteroid) that at perihelion comes closer to the Sun than Mercury i.e. it is a Mercury-crossing asteroid. It is also a Venus and Mars-crosser. It is named after Icarus of Greek mythology who flew too close to the Sun. It was discovered in 1949 by Walter Baade. From 1949 until the discovery of 2000 BD19 in 2000 it was known as the asteroid that passed closest to the Sun.
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