CAOSP abstracts, Volume: 53, No.: 2, year: 2023

Author(s): Bazyey, O.; Tokovenko, A.; Troianskyi, V.
Journal: Contributions of the Astronomical Observatory Skalnaté Pleso, vol. 53, no. 2, p. 61-70.
Date: 11/2023
Title: Temporary capture of a small body into a geocentric orbit
Keyword(s): Minor planets, asteroids: general, Methods: numerical
Pages: 61 -- 70
DOI: https://doi.org/10.31577/caosp.2023.53.2.61
NASA ADS Abstract Service: 2023CoSka..53b..61B
Citation:
License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Abstract: The radius of the Earth’s activity sphere relative to the Sun is more than 900,000 km. New asteroids whose orbits intersect this sphere have been discovered every year. It would appear reasonable that under certain conditions of an asteroid’s approach to the Earth, it can be captured into a geocentric orbit. Using the method for a numerical simulation of test point masses in the gravitational fields of the Sun and major planets, we determined some orbital elements of the asteroids, which are most likely to be temporarily captured into geocentric orbits.

We came to the conclusion that semi-major axes of these orbits take values close to 0.97 au and 1.03 au. Hence, the heliocentric speed during rapprochement with the Earth should be close to 30.2 km s^-1 and 29.2 km s^-1, respectively.

We found that the most probable time for the existence of the asteroid in the Earth orbit is about 90-110 days; it can also be up to 180-200 days. But if an asteroid remains in the Earth orbit for more than 5 years, 3/4 of such celestial bodies collide with the Earth.