(434620) 2005 VD

(434620) 2005 VD
Discovery [1]
Discovered by Mount Lemmon Srvy.
Discovery site Mount Lemmon Obs.
Discovery date 1 November 2005
Designations
MPC designation (434620) 2005 VD
2005 VD
centaur [1][2] · damocloid [3][4]
distant [5]
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 2
Observation arc 11.40 yr (4,163 days)
Aphelion 8.3492 AU
Perihelion 4.9849 AU
6.6670 AU
Eccentricity 0.2523
17.22 yr (6,288 days)
240.50°
0° 3m 26.28s / day
Inclination 172.87°
173.27°
178.13°
Jupiter MOID 0.0171 AU
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter
 6 km[3]
0.04 (assumed dark)
14.3[1]

    (434620) 2005 VD, provisional designation 2005 VD is a centaur and damocloid from the outer Solar System, known for having the second most highly inclined orbit of any small Solar System body, second to 2013 LA2. It was the most highly inclined known object between 2005 and 2013.

    Description

    This minor planet was discovered on 1 November 2005, by astronomers of the Mount Lemmon Survey at Mount Lemmon Observatory near Tucson, Arizona.[5] Precovery images have been found by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) from September 2005 and December 2001.

    Classification

    2005 VD has a semi-major axis greater than Jupiter and almost crosses the orbit of Jupiter when near perihelion.

    2005 VD has a semi-major axis greater than Jupiter and almost crosses the orbit of Jupiter when near perihelion. JPL lists it as a current centaur.[1] Both the Deep Ecliptic Survey (DES),[2] and the Minor Planet Center (MPC)[6] have listed it as a centaur (qmin=~5AU) at different epochs. The DES and MPC will list as a centaur again in 2032.

    Lowell Observatory also has it listed as a damocloid object.[4]

    2005 VD makes occasional close approaches to Jupiter, coming only 0.0817 AU from Jupiter in 1903, 0.0444 AU in 2057, and 0.077 AU in 2093. However the closest approach it will make in the next decade will only be 0.3089 AU on December 17, 2022.[1]

    Dynamics

    Being a highly dynamic object, even among centaurs, 2005 VD's orbit has visibly changed even since its discovery. Between 1600 and 2400, its semimajor axis will slowly increase from 6.64 to 6.96 AU, its eccentricity slowly increasing from 0.27 to 0.34, and a decreasing inclination from 176.7° to 169.9°. As such, until about 1870, 2005 VD was the most highly inclined known asteroid in the Solar System.

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 434620 (2005 VD)" (2013-05-14 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
    2. 1 2 Marc W. Buie (2006-08-28). "Orbit Fit and Astrometric record for 05VD". SwRI (Space Science Department). Archived from the original on 2012-12-12. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
    3. 1 2 Johnston, Wm. Robert (15 October 2017). "List of Known Trans-Neptunian Objects". Johnston's Archive. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
    4. 1 2 Akimasa Nakamura (2009-05-02). "Table of Damocloid objects, or Oort cloud asteroids". Lowell Observatory. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
    5. 1 2 "434620 (2005 VD)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
    6. ↑ "List Of Centaurs and Scattered-Disk Objects". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
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