Unusual minor planet

In planetary science, the term unusual minor planet, or unusual object, is used for a minor planet that possesses an unusual physical or orbital characteristic. For the Minor Planet Center (MPC), which operates under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union, any non-classical main-belt asteroid, which account for the vast majority of all minor planets, is an unusual minor planet. These include the near-Earth objects and Trojans as well as the distant minor planets such as centaurs and trans-Neptunian objects. In a narrower sense, the term is used for a group of bodies – including main-belt asteroids, Mars-crossers, centaurs and otherwise non-classifiable minor planets – that show a high orbital eccentricity, typically above 0.5 and/or a perihelion of less than 6 AU. Similarly, an unusual asteroid(UA) is an inner Solar System object with a high eccentricity and/or inclination but with a perihelion larger than 1.3 AU, which does exclude the near-Earth objects.

• 1 Other unusual objects
• 2 Characteristics
  • 2.1 Examples
• 3 See also
• 4 References
• 5 External links

The MPC lists the group of other unusual minor planets, which orbital characteristics do not fit those of the near-Earth and distant populations. Objects in this group typically have a TJupiter of less than 3 (a criterion that includes most members of the damocloid population). The remaining unusual objects with a TJupiterhigher than 3 are Mars-crossing asteroids with a high eccentricity of 0.5 or more. As of 2019, there are 830 unusual objects in total, most of which remain unnumbered. The following list also includes a few named bodies :

• 944 Hidalgo
• 4587 Rees
• 5335 Damocles
• 6130 Hutton
• 7096 Napier
• 7604 Kridsadaporn
• 8373 Stephengould
• 9767 Midsomer Norton
• 20461 Dioretsa
• 37117 Narcissus
• 308306 Dainere
• 365756 ISON
• 469366 Watkins
• 514107 Kaʻepaokaʻawela