Though most asteroids orbit the Sun in the main Asteroid Belt, not all do. Icarus (also spelled Ikarus), for example, follows a very elongated elliptical path that takes it closer to the Sun than Mercury. In 1968 it came relatively close to Earth for an asteroid, passing within 4 million miles (6 million kilometers). However, this distance was still ten times further than the Moon's, so it was well clear of a possible collision.
