Lost minor planet

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More than 700,000 minor planets have been observed, many of which must be considered lost due to insufficient observational data. Minor planet count.svg
More than 700,000 minor planets have been observed, many of which must be considered lost due to insufficient observational data.

A minor planet is "lost" when today's observers cannot find it, because its location is too uncertain to target observations. This happens if the orbital elements of a minor planet are not known accurately enough, typically because the observation arc for the object is too short, or too few observations were made before the object became unobservable (e.g. too faint due to increasing distance, or too close to the Sun to view at night).

Contents

By some definitions thousands, if not tens of thousands, of mostly small observed minor planets are lost. [2] Some lost minor planets discovered in decades past cannot be found because the available observational data is insufficient for reliable orbit determination. With limited information astronomers cannot know where to look for the object at future dates.

Lost objects are sometimes recovered when serendipitously re-observed by a later astronomical survey. If the orbital elements of the newly found object are sufficiently close to those of the earlier lost object, the two may be equated. This can be established by calculating backwards the "new" object's orbit (once it is firmly known) and checking past positions against those previously recorded for the lost object. This usually greatly extends the object's arc length, thus fixing the orbit much more precisely. The back-orbit calculations are especially tricky for lost comets because their orbits can be affected by non-gravitational forces, such as emission of jets of gas from the comet nucleus. Many previously lost asteroids (a type of minor planet) were rediscovered in the 1980s and 1990s, but many minor planets are still lost. [3]

Overview

The orbits of kilometre class NEAs are generally well known, though a few have been lost. However, large numbers of smaller NEAs have highly uncertain orbits NEA-sizes-vs-uncertainties-compact.PNG
The orbits of kilometre class NEAs are generally well known, though a few have been lost. However, large numbers of smaller NEAs have highly uncertain orbits

This is a small selection of some early lost or notable asteroids with their discovery and rediscovery dates. (A more detailed description for some of these minor planets can be found in the following sections.) The true number of lost asteroids may be over 150,000. [2] There are also about 30,000 unnumbered bodies with a condition code of U=9, indicating the highest possible uncertainty of their orbit determination. Many of these bodies have been observed years if not decades ago and must be considered lost. [5] [lower-alpha 1] There are also more than a thousand near-Earth objects (NEOs) with an observation arc of one or two days only. [6]

DesignationYear of
discoveryrecovery
132 Aethra 18731922 [7]
1892 X (330 Adalberta)1892false positive [lower-alpha 2]
452 Hamiltonia 18991981
473 Nolli 19011987
(12126) 1999 RM11
(A904 RD)
19041999
719 Albert 19112000
724 Hapag 19111988
843 Nicolaia 19161981
878 Mildred 19161991
1009 Sirene 19231982 [8]
1026 Ingrid 19231986
NameYear of
discoveryrecovery
3789 Zhongguo 19281986
1179 Mally 19311986
1862 Apollo 19321973
2101 Adonis 19361977
69230 Hermes 19372003 [9] [10]
1537 Transylvania 19401981
1922 Zulu 19491974
(29075) 1950 DA 19502000
1916 Boreas 1953 [9] 1976
3494 Purple Mountain 19621980
7796 Járacimrman 19731996
 
DesignationYear ofNotes MPC
discoveryrecovery
1927 LA [11] 1927false positive [12] Observed 3 times between 1 June 1927 and 5 July 1927 MPC
1991 BA 1991still lostPassed within a lunar distance of Earth MPC
1995 SN55 199520203:5 resonant TNO initially thought to be a large centaur MPC
2007 WD5 2007still lostPassed close to Mars MPC
6344 P-L 19602007 [13] Potentially hazardous object; probably a dormant comet MPC

20th-century recoveries

The number of asteroids that were only observed once and not re-observed grew throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, but improved telescopes, searches, and detection techniques led to resolution of most of these cases between 1970 and 2000. There are earlier examples also, such as 132 Aethra, which was lost between 1873 and 1922. [7]

1970s

Recovered bodyDescription
1862 Apollo Apollo is a Q-type asteroid, discovered by Karl Reinmuth in 1932, but lost and not recovered until 1973. Another Apollo asteroid is 2101 Adonis, discovered by Eugene Delporte in 1936 and lost until 1977 when it was rediscovered by Charles T. Kowal. It was also one of the first near-Earth asteroids to be discovered.
1916 Boreas The Amor asteroid Boreas, provisionally designated 1953 RA, was discovered on 1 September 1953 by Sylvain Julien Victor Arend at the Royal Observatory of Belgium, and rediscovered in 1974 by Richard Eugene McCrosky, G. Schwartz and JH Bulger based on a predicted position by Brian G. Marsden. [9] [14]
1922 Zulu The outer main-belt asteroid, provisionally designated 1949 HC, was discovered on 25 April 1949 by Ernest Leonard Johnson at Johannesburg (UO). [9] It is one of very few asteroids located in the 2:1 mean-motion resonance with Jupiter. [15] This asteroid was lost shortly after discovery and only rediscovered in 1974 by Richard Eugene McCrosky, Cheng-yuan Shao and JH Bulger based on a predicted position by C. M. Bardwell of the Cincinnati Observatory. [9] [14]

1980s and 1990s

Leif Kahl Kristensen at the University of Aarhus rediscovered 452 Hamiltonia and 1537 Transylvania, along with numerous other small objects, in 1981. [16] At the time these results were published, only the nine numbered minor planets 330 Adalberta, 473 Nolli, 719 Albert, 724 Hapag, 843 Nicolaia, 878 Mildred, 1009 Sirene, 1026 Ingrid, and 1179 Mally (below) had remained unobserved since their discoveries: [16]

Recovered bodyDescription
330 Adalberta The object originally named Adalberta, provisionally designated 1892 X, turned out to be an erroneous observation. The designation was later reassigned to A910 CB. [17]
843 Nicolaia Nicolaia, provisionally designated 1916 AN, was rediscovered at the Heidelberg Astronomisches Rechen-Institut in 1981. [18]
473 Nolli Nolli, provisionally designated 1901 GC, was discovered by Max Wolf on 13 February 1901, but it remained lost for many decades until it was recovered finally in 1987, 86 years later. [19]
724 Hapag Hapag had first been found by Johann Palisa in 1911. It was given the provisional name 1911 NC, but was lost until it was rediscovered in 1988. [20] [21]
719 Albert Near-Earth asteroid 719 Albert (1911 MT) had also been found by Johann Palisa in 1911. Due to inaccuracies in its computed orbit, Albert was also lost and not recovered until 2000, when Jeffrey A. Larsen located it using data from the Spacewatch asteroid survey project. At the time of its rediscovery, Albert was the last remaining "lost asteroid" among those assigned numbers (since 69230 Hermes was not numbered until 2003). [21]
878 Mildred Mildred, provisionally designated 1916 f, was originally discovered in 1916 using the 60-inch Hale telescope at the Californian Mount Wilson Observatory, but was subsequently lost until it was again observed on single nights in 1985 and 1991. [21] [22]
1009 Sirene Sirene, provisionally designated 1923 PE, was recovered in 1982 by J. Gibson using exposures form the Samuel Oschin Telescope at Palomar Observatory, and he revised its ephemeris. [8]
1026 Ingrid Ingrid was discovered by Karl Reinmuth on 13 August 1923 and given the provisional designation 1923 NY. [9] It was reidentified in 1986 by Syuichi Nakano. [23]
1179 Mally Mally was discovered by Max Wolf on 19 March 1931 and given the provisional designation 1931 FD. [9] It was rediscovered in 1986 by Lutz Schmadel, Richard Martin West and Hans-Emil Schuster. [24]

Other notable recoveries

21st century

Recently lost minor planets

See also

Notes

  1. Note: this query at JPL's Small-Body Database lists all unnamed asteroids with an orbital uncertainty of 9, which also includes recently discovered bodies. The lost minor planets appear first, since the table is sorted by the body's first observation date.
  2. On 18 March 1892, a body discovered by Max Wolf with the provisional designation 1892 X was originally named 330 Adalberta, but was lost and never recovered. In 1982, it was determined that Wolf erroneously measured two images of stars, not asteroids. Because it was a false positive and the body never existed, the named designation 330 Adalberta was reused for another asteroid, A910 CB, discovered in 1910.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Near-Earth object</span> Small Solar System body with an orbit that can bring it close to Earth

A near-Earth object (NEO) is any small Solar System body orbiting the Sun whose closest approach to the Sun (perihelion) is less than 1.3 times the Earth–Sun distance. This definition applies to the object's orbit around the Sun, rather than its current position, thus an object with such an orbit is considered an NEO even at times when it is far from making a close approach of Earth. If an NEO's orbit crosses the Earth's orbit, and the object is larger than 140 meters (460 ft) across, it is considered a potentially hazardous object (PHO). Most known PHOs and NEOs are asteroids, but about 0.35% are comets.

(35396) 1997 XF11 (provisional designation 1997 XF11) is a kilometer-sized asteroid, classified as a near-Earth object, Mars-crosser and potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4015 Wilson–Harrington</span> Periodic comet with 4 year orbit

4015 Wilson–Harrington is an active asteroid known both as comet 107P/Wilson–Harrington and as asteroid 4015 Wilson–Harrington. It passed 0.4 AU (60 million km) from Earth on 20 July 2022 and then passed perihelion on 24 August 2022. It seldom gets brighter than apparent magnitude 16. It will return to perihelion on 25 November 2026.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">69230 Hermes</span> Sub-kilometer sized asteroid and binary system on an eccentric orbit

69230 Hermes is a sub-kilometer sized asteroid and binary system on an eccentric orbit, classified as a potentially hazardous asteroid and near-Earth object of the Apollo group, that passed Earth at approximately twice the distance of the Moon on 30 October 1937. The asteroid was named after Hermes from Greek mythology. It is noted for having been the last remaining named lost asteroid, rediscovered in 2003. The S-type asteroid has a rotation period of 13.9 hours. Its synchronous companion was discovered in 2003. The primary and secondary are similar in size; they measure approximately 810 meters (2,700 ft) and 540 meters (1,800 ft) in diameter, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Precovery</span> Process of finding the image of an object in images or photographic plates predating its discovery

In astronomy, precovery is the process of finding the image of an object in images or photographic plates predating its discovery, typically for the purpose of calculating a more accurate orbit. This happens most often with minor planets, but sometimes a comet, a dwarf planet, a natural satellite, or a star is found in old archived images; even exoplanet precovery observations have been obtained. "Precovery" refers to a pre-discovery image; "recovery" refers to imaging of a body which was lost to our view, but is now visible again (also see lost minor planet and lost comet).

1991 BA is a sub-kilometer asteroid, classified as near-Earth object of the Apollo group that was first observed by Spacewatch on 18 January 1991, and passed within 160,000 km (100,000 mi) of Earth. This is a little less than half the distance to the Moon. With a 5-hour observation arc the asteroid has a poorly constrained orbit and is considered lost. It could be a member of the Beta Taurids.

<span class="nowrap">2007 VK<sub>184</sub></span>

2007 VK184 is a sub-kilometer asteroid, classified as a near-Earth object of the Apollo group, and estimated to be approximately 130 meters (430 ft) in diameter. It was listed on the Sentry Risk Table with a Torino Scale rating of 1 for a potential impactor in June 2048. It was removed from the Sentry Risk Table on 28 March 2014.

2007 WD5 is an Apollo asteroid some 50 m (160 ft) in diameter and a Mars-crosser asteroid first observed on 20 November 2007, by Andrea Boattini of the Catalina Sky Survey. Early observations of 2007 WD5 caused excitement amongst the scientific community when it was estimated as having as high as a 1 in 25 chance of colliding with Mars on 30 January 2008. However, by 9 January 2008, additional observations allowed NASA's Near Earth Object Program (NEOP) to reduce the uncertainty region resulting in only a 1-in-10,000 chance of impact. 2007 WD5 most likely passed Mars at a distance of 6.5 Mars radii. Due to this relatively small distance and the uncertainty level of the prior observations, the gravitational effects of Mars on its trajectory are unknown and, according to Steven Chesley of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory Near-Earth Object program, 2007 WD5 is currently considered 'lost' (see lost asteroids).

1916 Boreas, provisional designation 1953 RA, is an eccentric, stony asteroid and near-Earth object of the Amor group, approximately 3 kilometers in diameter. After its discovery in 1953, it became a lost asteroid until 1974. It was named after Boreas from Greek mythology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minor planet</span> Astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is neither a planet or a comet

According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term minor planet, but that year's meeting reclassified minor planets and comets into dwarf planets and small Solar System bodies (SSSBs). In contrast to the eight official planets of the Solar System, all minor planets fail to clear their orbital neighborhood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">(136617) 1994 CC</span> Near-Earth asteroid

(136617) 1994 CC is a sub-kilometer trinary asteroid, classified as near-Earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo group.

(471240) 2011 BT15, provisional designation 2011 BT15, is a stony, sub-kilometer sized asteroid and fast rotator, classified as a near-Earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo group. It had been one of the objects with the highest impact threat on the Palermo Technical Impact Hazard Scale.

<span class="nowrap">(669555) 2012 YQ<sub>1</sub></span>

(669555) 2012 YQ1 is a sub-kilometer asteroid, classified as a near-Earth object and a potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo group, approximately 200 meters in diameter. It was first observed on 19 December 2012, by astronomers Andrey Oreshko and Timur Kryachko at the Elena Remote Observatory (G32) located in the Chilean Atacama desert.

In observational astronomy, the observation arc of a Solar System body is the time period between its earliest and latest observations, used for tracing the body's path. It is usually given in days or years. The term is mostly used in the discovery and tracking of asteroids and comets. Arc length has the greatest influence on the accuracy of an orbit. The number, spacing of intermediate observations, and timestamps have a lesser effect.

2011 XC2 (also written 2011 XC2) is a near-Earth asteroid roughly 60–140 meters (200–460 ft) in diameter that passed less than 1 lunar distance from Earth on 3 December 2011.

(672457) 2014 UR116, also known as 2008 XB, is an eccentric sub-kilometer asteroid, categorized as a near-Earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo group with a diameter of approximately 400 meters (1,300 ft). It was first observed on 1 December 2008, by the Mount Lemmon Survey at Mount Lemmon Observatory in Arizona, United States.

<span class="nowrap">2017 XO<sub>2</sub></span>

2017 XO2, also written 2017 XO2, is a sub-kilometer asteroid and near-Earth object of the Apollo group approximately 110 meters (360 feet) in diameter. The asteroid was discovered by Pan-STARRS in December 2017, after it already had approached Earth at 0.051 AU (7,600,000 km) or 20 lunar distances (LD) on 6 November 2017. On 26 April 2057, it will pass Earth at a similar distance of 21 LD again.

2014 MV67 (also written 2014 MV67) was a lost asteroid with an observation arc less than 1 day. It had an assumed orbital eccentricity and a very poorly constrained orbit. Depending on the orbit, it could have been a potentially hazardous asteroid, roughly 540 meters (1,770 feet) in diameter, or it could turn out to be a Mars-crosser or even a main-belt asteroid as were the cases with 2004 BX159 and 2010 GZ60. It was recovered by Pan-STARRS in September 2021 and is now known to be a Mars-crossing asteroid.

2007 FT3 (also written 2007 FT3) is a lost asteroid with a short observation arc of 1.2 days that cannot be recovered with targeted observations and awaits serendipitous survey observations. It has a poorly constrained orbit and has not been seen since 2007. It was first observed on 20 March 2007 when the asteroid was estimated to be 0.19 ± 0.01 AU (28.4 ± 1.5 million km) from Earth and had a solar elongation of 107 degrees. 2007 FT3 is the fourth largest asteroid with better than a 1-in-2 million cumulative chance of impacting Earth after (29075) 1950 DA, 1979 XB, and 101955 Bennu. With a cumulative Palermo Technical Impact Hazard Scale of -2.93, the poorly known orbit and assumed size place 2007 FT3 fifth on an unconstrained listing of the Sentry Risk Table.

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