20461 Dioretsa
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Lincoln Laboratory Near-Earth Asteroid Research Team at Socorro[1] |
| Discovery date | 8 June 1999 |
| Designations | |
| MPC designation | 20461 |
| Pronunciation | /daɪ.əˈrɛtsə/ dy-ə-RET-sə |
| 1999 LD31 | |
| centaur,[1] damocloid | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 2457000.5 (2014 Dec 09.0) | |
| Aphelion | 45.162 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.390026 AU |
| 23.776 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.899478 |
| 115.94 yr (42,346 days) | |
| 46.844° | |
| Inclination | 160.40358° (retrograde) |
| 297.22098° | |
| 102.4475° | |
| Known satellites | none |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 14±3 km[2] |
| 0.03±0.01[2] | |
| 13.8[1] | |
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20461 Dioretsa (1999 LD31) is a centaur asteroid[1] discovered in 1999 notable for its unusual orbit, which is highly eccentric and retrograde. Its name is the word 'asteroid' spelled backwards to reflect this fact. It is one of twenty or so known minor planets in the Solar System that have a retrograde orbit—see the List of exceptional asteroids.
Dioretsa's orbit is otherwise similar to that of a comet. It has a perihelion of 2.4 AU and an aphelion of 45.2 AU. This has led to speculation that Dioretsa was originally an object from the Oort cloud.
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