Pole, Pericenter, and Nodes of the Interstellar Minor Body A/2017 U1

Abstract

Here, we explore some peculiar orbital features of the recently discovered asteroid A/2017 U1, which is a clear outlier when considering the average value of the eccentricity of known hyperbolic comets. As for the orientation of its orbit in space, the orbital plane of A/2017 U1 seems to be away from any obvious clusters present for this population. The orbital nodes of A/2017 U1 are well away from the paths of the planets of the Solar System and the Sun. All these orbital properties appear to confirm A/2017 U1 as the first known interstellar asteroid.

4 pages, 1 figure

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Cited by in corpus (5)

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• Recent arrivals to the main asteroid belt
• Finding Fast Transients in Real Time Using Novel Light Curve Analysis Algorithm