2020 VT1
2020 VT1 is a small asteroid, classified as a near-Earth object of the Amor group, that is a temporary horseshoe companion to Mars.[4]
| Discovery [1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Pan-STARRS1 |
| Discovery site | Haleakalā Obs. |
| Discovery date | 10 November 2020 |
| Designations | |
| 2020 VT1 | |
| NEO–Amor[1][2] | |
| Orbital characteristics [2] | |
| Epoch 31 May 2020 (JD 2459000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 6[2] · 5[1] | |
| Observation arc | 24 days |
| Aphelion | 1.7774 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.2687 AU |
| 1.5231 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1670 |
| 1.88 yr (687 d) | |
| 315.41° | |
| 0° 31m 27.84s / day | |
| Inclination | 18.717° |
| 50.169° | |
| 296.19° | |
| Earth MOID | 0.3504 AU (136 LD) |
| Physical characteristics | |
Mean diameter | 89 m (est. at 0.15)[3] |
| 22.921[2] · 23.0[1] | |
Discovery
2020 VT1 was discovered on 10 November 2020, by J. Bulger, K. Chambers, T. Lowe, A. Schultz, and M. Willman observing for the survey conducted by Pan-STARRS at Haleakalā Observatory, Hawaii.[1][5] As of 20 January 2021, it has been observed 28 times with an observation arc of 24 days.[2]
Orbit and orbital evolution
2020 VT1 is currently an Amor asteroid, a subgroup of the near-Earth objects that approach the orbit of Earth from beyond, but do not cross it. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.3–1.8 AU once every 23 months (687 days; semi-major axis of 1.52 AU). Its orbit has a moderate eccentricity of 0.17 and an inclination of 19° with respect to the ecliptic.[2] It is most notable for its horseshoe orbit, a complex co-orbital motion with Mars, as both bodies have similar semi-major axes.[4] The object can also be classified as a Mars-crosser, intersecting the orbit of the Red Planet at 1.66 AU.[2]
Animation of 2020 VT1 from 1600 to 2500
Sun · Mars · 2020 VT1
References
- "2020 VT1". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
- "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2020 VT1)" (2020-11-14 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
- "Asteroid Size Estimator". CNEOS NASA/JPL. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
- de la Fuente Marcos, Carlos; de la Fuente Marcos, Raúl (March 2021). "Using Mars co-orbitals to estimate the importance of rotation-induced YORP break-up events in Earth co-orbital space". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 501 (4): 6007–6025. arXiv:2101.02563. Bibcode:2021MNRAS.501.6007D. doi:10.1093/mnras/stab062.
- "MPEC 2020-V75 : 2020 VT1". Minor Planet Electronic Circular. Minor Planet Center. 12 November 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
- Further reading
- Understanding the Distribution of Near-Earth Asteroids Bottke, W. F., Jedicke, R., Morbidelli, A., Petit, J.-M., Gladman, B. 2000, Science, Vol. 288, Issue 5474, pp. 2190–2194.
- A Numerical Survey of Transient Co-orbitals of the Terrestrial Planets Christou, A. A. 2000, Icarus, Vol. 144, Issue 1, pp. 1–20.
- Debiased Orbital and Absolute Magnitude Distribution of the Near-Earth Objects Bottke, W. F., Morbidelli, A., Jedicke, R., Petit, J.-M., Levison, H. F., Michel, P., Metcalfe, T. S. 2002, Icarus, Vol. 156, Issue 2, pp. 399–433.
- Transient co-orbital asteroids Brasser, R., Innanen, K. A., Connors, M., Veillet, C., Wiegert, P., Mikkola, S., Chodas, P. W. 2004, Icarus, Vol. 171, Issue 1, pp. 102–109.
External links
- Discovery MPEC
- List Of Amor Minor Planets (by designation), Minor Planet Center
- 2020 VT1 at NeoDyS-2, Near Earth Objects—Dynamic Site
- 2020 VT1 at ESA–space situational awareness
- 2020 VT1 at the JPL Small-Body Database
2020 in space | ||
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| Selected NEOs |
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| Space exploration |
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