The asteroid 1981 Midas was discovered on March 6 1973 by Charles T. Kowal at Palomar Observatory. It is named after Midas the king of Phrygia in Greek mythology who turned objects to gold when he touched them. Midas is an Apollo asteroid a Venus and Mars-crosser asteroid with an orbital period of 2 years 134 days. Midas is about 3.4 kilometers (2.1 mi) in diameter.Its last notable close approach to Earth was on 11 March 1992 passing 0.13332 AU (19944000 km; 12393000 mi) from Earth.
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