Comparison
| Discovery [1] [2] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Mount Lemmon Srvy. |
| Discovery site | Mount Lemmon Obs. (first observed only) |
| Discovery date | 1 November 2005 |
| Designations | |
| 2005 VX3 | |
| TNO [3] · damocloid [4] unusual [5] · distant [1] | |
| Orbital characteristics [3] | |
| Epoch 27 April 2019 (JD 2458600.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 4 | |
| Observation arc | 81 days |
| Aphelion | 1825.61 AU |
| Perihelion | 4.1058 AU |
| 914.86 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.9955 |
| 27,672 yr | |
| 0.1730° | |
| 0° 0m 0s / day | |
| Inclination | 112.22° |
| 255.35° | |
| 196.37° | |
| Jupiter MOID | 0.8884 AU |
| TJupiter | −0.9430 |
| Physical characteristics | |
Mean diameter | 7 km (est.) [4] |
| 0.09 (assumed) [4] | |
| 14.1 [1] [3] | |
2005 VX3 is trans-Neptunian object and retrograde damocloid on a highly eccentric, cometary-like orbit. It was first observed on 1 November 2005, by astronomers with the Mount Lemmon Survey at the Mount Lemmon Observatory in Arizona, United States. The unusual object measures approximately 7 kilometers (4 miles) in diameter. [4] It has the 3rd largest known heliocentric semi-major axis and aphelion. [6] Additionally its perihelion lies within the orbit of Jupiter, which means it also has the largest orbital eccentricity of any known minor planet.
2005 VX3 orbits the Sun at a distance of 4.1–1,826 AU once every 27,672 years (semi-major axis of 915 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.9955 and an inclination of 112° with respect to the ecliptic. It belongs to the dynamical group of damocloids due to its retrograde orbit and its low Tisserand parameter (TJupiter of −0.9430). [3] It is a Jupiter-, Saturn-, Uranus-, and Neptune-crosser. The body's observation arc begins with its first observation by the Mount Lemmon Survey on 1 November 2005. [1]
| Orbital evolution — Barycentric elements | |||
| Year [7] (epoch) | Aphelion | Semimajor-axis | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 2710 AU | n.a. | [lower-alpha 1] |
| 2012 | 1914 AU | n.a. | [lower-alpha 2] |
| 2015 | 2563 AU | n.a. | [lower-alpha 3] |
| 2016 | 3235 AU | n.a. | [lower-alpha 4] |
| 2050 | 2049 AU | 1026 AU | [lower-alpha 1] |
2005 VX3 has a barycentric semi-major axis of ~1026 AU. [7] [lower-alpha 1] 2014 FE72 and 2012 DR30 have a larger barycentric semi-major axis. The epoch of January 2016 was when 2005 VX3 had its largest heliocentric semi-major axis.
The object has a short observation arc of 81 days and does not have a well constrained orbit. [3] It has not been observed since January 2006, when it came to perihelion, 4.1 AU from the Sun. [3] It may be a dormant comet that has not been seen outgassing. In the past it may have made closer approaches to the Sun that could have removed most near-surface volatiles. The current orbit crosses the ecliptic just inside Jupiter's orbit and has a Jupiter-MOID of 0.8 AU. [3]
In 2017, it had an apparent magnitude of ~28 and was 24 AU from the Sun. It comes to opposition in mid-June. It would require one of the largest telescopes in the world for any more follow-up observations.
Damocloids are a class of minor planets such as 5335 Damocles and 1996 PW that have Halley-type or long-period highly eccentric orbits typical of periodic comets such as Halley's Comet, but without showing a cometary coma or tail. David Jewitt defines a damocloid as an object with a Jupiter Tisserand invariant (TJ) of 2 or less, while Akimasa Nakamura defines this group with the following orbital elements:
Comet C/2006 M4 (SWAN) is a non-periodic comet discovered in late June 2006 by Robert D. Matson of Irvine, California and Michael Mattiazzo of Adelaide, South Australia in publicly available images of the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). These images were captured by the Solar Wind ANisotropies (SWAN) Lyman-alpha all-sky camera on board the SOHO. The comet was officially announced after a ground-based confirmation by Robert McNaught on July 12.
Comet Zhu–Balam is a long-period comet first identified by David D. Balam on June 8, 1997 and originally photographed by Jin Zhu on June 3, 1997. The comet is estimated at 10 kilometres in diameter with a period of approximately 36,800 years.
(308933) 2006 SQ372 is a trans-Neptunian object and highly eccentric centaur on a cometary-like orbit in the outer region of the Solar System, approximately 123 kilometers (76 miles) in diameter. It was discovered through the Sloan Digital Sky Survey by astronomers Andrew Becker, Andrew Puckett and Jeremy Kubica on images first taken on 27 September 2006 (with precovery images dated to 13 September 2005).
(434620) 2005 VD, provisional designation 2005 VD, is a centaur and damocloid on a retrograde orbit from the outer Solar System, known for having the second most highly inclined orbit of any small Solar System body, behind 2013 LA2. It was the most highly inclined known object between 2005 and 2013. The unusual object measures approximately 6 kilometers in diameter.
C/1980 E1 is a non-periodic comet discovered by Edward L. G. Bowell on 11 February 1980 and which came closest to the Sun (perihelion) in March 1982. It is leaving the Solar System on a hyperbolic trajectory due to a close approach to Jupiter. In the 43 years since its discovery only two objects with higher eccentricities have been identified, 1I/ʻOumuamua (1.2) and 2I/Borisov (3.35).
(523622) 2007 TG422, provisional designation 2007 TG422, is a trans-Neptunian object on a highly eccentric orbit in the scattered disc region at the edge of Solar System. Approximately 260 kilometers (160 miles) in diameter, it was discovered on 3 October 2007 by astronomers Andrew Becker, Andrew Puckett and Jeremy Kubica during the Sloan Digital Sky Survey at Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico, United States. According to American astronomer Michael Brown, the bluish object is "possibly" a dwarf planet. It belongs to a group of objects studied in 2014, which lead to the proposition of the hypothetical Planet Nine.
2012 DR30 is a trans-Neptunian object and centaur from the scattered disk and/or inner Oort cloud, located in the outermost region of the Solar System. The object with a highly eccentric orbit of 0.99 was first observed by astronomers with the Spacewatch program at Steward Observatory on 31 March 2009. It measures approximately 188 kilometers (120 miles) in diameter.
2013 BL76 is a trans-Neptunian object and centaur from the scattered disk and Inner Oort cloud approximately 30 kilometers in diameter.
2013 AZ60 is a small Solar System body (extended centaur) from the scattered disk or inner Oort cloud. 2013 AZ60 has the 8th-largest semi-major axis of a minor planet not detected outgassing like a comet (2013 BL76, 2005 VX3 and 2012 DR30 have a larger semi-major axis).
2002 RN109 is a trans-Neptunian object and damocloid on a highly eccentric, cometary-like orbit. It was first observed on 6 September 2002, by astronomers with the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research at the Lincoln Lab's ETS near Socorro, New Mexico, in the United States. The unusual object measures approximately 4 kilometers (2 miles) in diameter. It has the second highest orbital eccentricity of any known minor planet, after 2005 VX3.
C/2015 ER61 (PanSTARRS) is a comet and inner Oort cloud object. When classified as a minor planet, it had the fourth-largest aphelion of any known minor planet in the Solar System, after 2005 VX3, 2012 DR30, and 2013 BL76. It additionally had the most eccentric orbit of any known minor planet, with its distance from the Sun varying by about 99.9% during the course of its orbit, followed by 2005 VX3 with an eccentricity of 0.9973. On 30 January 2016, it was classified as a comet when it was 5.7 AU from the Sun. It comes close to Jupiter, and a close approach in the past threw it on the distant orbit it is on now.
2010 BK118 (also written 2010 BK118) is a centaur roughly 20–60 km in diameter. It is on a retrograde cometary orbit. It has a barycentric semi-major axis (average distance from the Sun) of ~400 AU.
(418993) 2009 MS9, provisionally known as 2009 MS9, is a centaur roughly 30–60 km in diameter. It has a highly inclined orbit and a barycentric semi-major axis (average distance from the Sun) of ~353 AU.
(336756) 2010 NV1, prov. designation: 2010 NV1, is a highly eccentric planet crossing trans-Neptunian object, also classified as centaur and damocloid, approximately 52 kilometers (32 miles) in diameter. It is on a retrograde cometary orbit. It has a barycentric semi-major axis (average distance from the Sun) of approximately 286 AU.
2013 SY99, also known by its OSSOS survey designation uo3L91, is a trans-Neptunian object discovered on September 29, 2013 by the Outer Solar System Origins Survey using the Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope at Mauna Kea Observatory. This object orbits the Sun between 50 and 1,300 AU (7.5 and 190 billion km), and has a barycentric orbital period of nearly 20,000 years. It has the fourth largest semi-major axis for an orbit with perihelion beyond 38 AU. 2013 SY99 has one of highest perihelia of any known extreme trans-Neptunian object, behind sednoids including Sedna (76 AU), 2012 VP113 (80 AU), and Leleākūhonua (65 AU).
2017 MB7 is a trans-Neptunian object and damocloid on a cometary-like orbit from the outer Solar System, approximately 6 kilometers (4 miles) in diameter. It was first observed on 22 June 2017 by the Pan-STARRS survey at Haleakala Observatory in Hawaii, United States. This unusual object has the largest heliocentric aphelion, semi-major axis, orbital eccentricity and orbital period of any known periodic minor planet, even larger than that of 2014 FE72; it is calculated to reach several thousand AU (Earth-Sun) distances at the farthest extent of its orbit.
C/2017 U7 (PanSTARRS) is a hyperbolic comet, first observed on 29 October 2017 by astronomers of the Pan-STARRS facility at Haleakala Observatory, Hawaii, United States when the object was 7.8 AU (1.2 billion km) from the Sun. Despite being discovered only 10 days after interstellar asteroid 1I/'Oumuamua, it was not announced until March 2018 as its orbit is not strongly hyperbolic beyond most Oort Cloud comets. Based on the absolute magnitude of 10.6, it may measure tens of kilometers in diameter. As of August 2018, there is only 1 hyperbolic asteroid known, ʻOumuamua, but hundreds of hyperbolic comets are known.
2006 LM1 is a trans-Neptunian object and retrograde damocloid on a highly eccentric, cometary-like orbit. It was first observed on 3 June 2006 by the Mount Lemmon Survey at the Mount Lemmon Observatory in Arizona, United States. The orbit of 2006 LM1 is highly uncertain as its observation arc is only spans 2 days. 2006 LM1 measures approximately 5 kilometers (3 miles) in diameter, assuming a low albedo of 0.09.
