| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | LINEAR |
| Discovery site | Lincoln Lab ETS |
| Discovery date | 25 February 2000 (first observed only) |
| Designations | |
| 2000 DG8 | |
| centaur[2] · damocloid[3] unusual[4] · distant[1] | |
| Orbital characteristics[2] | |
| Epoch 27 April 2019 (JD 2458600.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter4 | |
| Observation arc | 342 days |
| Aphelion | 19.305 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.2156 AU |
| 10.760 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.7941 |
| 35.30 yr (12,893 d) | |
| 186.76° | |
| 0° 1m 40.44s / day | |
| Inclination | 129.25° |
| 279.00° | |
| 222.05° | |
| TJupiter | -0.6220 |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 15.6±2.6 km[2][3] 17.28 km[5]: 11 | |
| 0.027[5]: 11 0.053±0.017[2][3] | |
| 13.1[1][2] | |
2000 DG8 is a dark centaur and damocloid on a retrograde and highly eccentric orbit from the outer region of the Solar System.[5] It was first observed on 25 February 2000, by astronomers with the LINEAR program at the Lincoln Lab's ETS near Socorro, New Mexico, United States. It has not been observed since 2001.[1] The unusual object measures approximately 16 kilometers (9.9 miles) in diameter.[2][3]
2000 DG8 was first observed on 25 February 2000, by astronomers of the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) at the Lincoln Laboratory's Experimental Test Site near Socorro, New Mexico, United States.[1]
2000 DG8 is a member of the dynamically unstable centaur and damocloid population.[2] Given the body's dark surface and its cometary-like orbit,[2][5] it may be a dormant comet.[citation needed]
It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.2–19.3 AU once every 35 years and 4 months (12,893 days; semi-major axis of 10.76 AU). Its orbit has a high eccentricity of 0.79 and an inclination of 129° with respect to the ecliptic.[2] With an inclination above 90°, It is one of about 100 known minor planets with a retrograde orbit around the Sun.[6] The object also has a negative Tisserand's parameter.[2]
The body's observation arc begins with its first observation at Socorro in February 2000.[1] It was last observed in 2001 when it came to perihelion (closest approach to the Sun),[2] and will next come to perihelion in April 2036.
According to radiometric observations published in 2001 and 2005, 2000 DG8 measures approximately 15.6 and 17.28 kilometers in diameter, with a corresponding albedo 0.053 and 0.027, respectively.[2][5] As of 2018, no rotational lightcurve of this object has been obtained from photometric observations. The object's rotation period, pole and shape remain unknown.[2]
This minor planet has not been numbered by the Minor Planet Center and remains unnamed.[1]
