20461 Dioretsa /daɪ.əˈrɛtsə/ is a centaur and damocloid on a retrograde, cometary-like orbit from the outer Solar System. It was discovered on 8 June 1999, by members of the LINEAR team at the Lincoln Laboratory Experimental Test Site near Socorro, New Mexico, United States.[1] The highly eccentric unusual object measures approximately 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) in diameter.[4][6] It was named Dioretsa, the word "asteroid" spelled backwards.[1]
Discovery [1] | |
---|---|
Discovered by | LINEAR |
Discovery site | Lincoln Lab ETS |
Discovery date | 8 June 1999 |
Designations | |
MPC designation | (20461) Dioretsa |
Pronunciation | /daɪ.əˈrɛtsə/ |
Named after | Asteroid [2] (spelled backwards) |
Alternative designations | 1999 LD31 |
Minor planet category | centaur[3] · damocloid [4] unusual [5] · distant [1] |
Orbital characteristics [3] | |
Epoch 27 April 2019 (JD 2458600.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 2 | |
Observation arc | 2.54 yr (927 d) |
Aphelion | 45.404 AU |
Perihelion | 2.4021 AU |
Semi-major axis | 23.903 AU |
Eccentricity | 0.8995 |
Orbital period (sidereal) | 116.87 yr (42,686 d) |
Mean anomaly | 59.873° |
Mean motion | 0° 0m 30.24s / day |
Inclination | 160.43° |
Longitude of ascending node | 297.77° |
Argument of perihelion | 103.13° |
Jupiter MOID | 0.1907 AU |
TJupiter | -1.5470 |
Physical characteristics | |
Mean diameter | 14±3 km[4][6] |
Geometric albedo | 0.03±0.01[4][6] |
Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.8[1][3] |
Dioretsa is a member of the damocloids,[4] with a retrograde orbit and a negative TJupiter of −1.547. It is also a centaur, as its orbit has a semi-major axis in between that of Jupiter (5.5 AU) Neptune (30.1 AU).[3] The Minor Planet Center lists it as a critical object and (other) unusual minor planet due to an orbital eccentricity of more than 0.5.[5]
It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.4–45.4 AU once every 116 years and 10 months (42,686 days; semi-major axis of 23.9 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.90 and an inclination of 160° with respect to the ecliptic.[3] Its observation arc begins 12 months prior to its official discovery observation, with a precovery taken by Spacewatch at Steward Observatory in June 1998.[1] As of 2021[update], it was last observed in 2000 and its orbit still has an uncertainty of 2.[3]
An inclination of greater than 90° means that a body moves in a retrograde orbit. Dioretsa's orbit is otherwise similar to that of a comet. This has led to speculation that Dioretsa was originally an object from the Oort cloud.[citation needed]
The minor planet's name "Dioretsa" is the word "asteroid" spelled backwards, and is the first numbered of currently 99 known minor planets with a retrograde motion in the Solar System.[2] The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 1 May 2003 (M.P.C. 48396).[7]
According to observations made with the 10-meter Keck Telescope, Dioretsa measures 14 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a low albedo of 0.03.[6] It has an absolute magnitude of 13.8.[3] As of 2018, Dioretsa's spectral type as well as its rotation period and shape remain unknown.[3][8]
| |
---|---|
|
Small Solar System bodies | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Minor planets |
| ||||||
Comets |
| ||||||
Other |
|