Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Aug 8, 2026

2017 DR109

2017 DR109 is a micro-asteroid, classified as near-Earth object of the Apollo group and Aten group, respectively. It is currently trapped in a 1:1 mean motion resonance with the Earth of the horseshoe type. The object was first observed on 27 February 2017, by astronomers of the Catalina Sky Survey conducted at Mount Lemmon Observatory, Arizona, United States.

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2017 DR109
Discovery1
Discovered byCatalina Sky Srvy.
Discovery siteMount Lemmon Obs.
Discovery date27 February 2017
Designations
NEO · Apollo1 · Aten2
Orbital characteristics1
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 6
Observation arc(5 days)
Aphelion1.2422 AU
Perihelion0.7591 AU
1.0006 AU
Eccentricity0.2414
1.00 yr (366 days)
263.04°
0° 59m 4.92s / day
Inclination3.0600°
341.31°
72.094°
Earth MOID0.0062 AU (2.4 LD)
Physical characteristics
9–20 m (estimate)34[a]
27.61

2017 DR109 is a micro-asteroid, classified as near-Earth object of the Apollo group and Aten group, respectively. It is currently trapped in a 1:1 mean motion resonance with the Earth of the horseshoe type.5 The object was first observed on 27 February 2017, by astronomers of the Catalina Sky Survey conducted at Mount Lemmon Observatory, Arizona, United States.2

Discovery

2017 DR109 was first observed by astronomer D. C. Fuls on 27 February 2017, using the 0.68-meter Schmidt camera of the Catalina Sky Survey at a visual apparent magnitude of 19.6.5: 6 

Orbit and physical properties

The asteroid's orbit has still a high uncertainty; with a very short observation arc of just 5 days. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 0.76–1.24 AU once every 366 days (semi-major axis of 1.00 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.24 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic.1 With a semi-major axis of that of Earth, the object is both classified as a member of Apollo and Aten in the JPL Small-Body Database and by the Minor Planet Center, respectively.12 Both Apollo and Aten asteroids are Earth-crossing asteroids.

Earth co-orbital

2017 DR109 is currently trapped in a 1:1 mean motion resonance with the Earth of the horseshoe type and follows an orbit similar to those of 54509 YORP, 2017 FZ2 and several other near-Earth asteroids.5

Physical characteristics

2017 DR109 has an absolute magnitude of 27.6 which gives a calculated mean diameter between 9 and 20 meters for an assumed geometric albedo of 0.20 and 0.04, respectively, which are typical values for stony S-type and carbonaceous C-type asteroids.34

Notes

Notes

  • ^ This is assuming an albedo of 0.20 and 0.04, respectively.
References

References

  1. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2017 DR109)" (2017-03-04 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  2. "2017 DR109". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  3. "2017 DR109 – Summary". NEODyS-2, Near Earth Objects – Dynamic Site. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  4. "Asteroid Size Estimator". CNEOS NASA/JPL. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  5. de la Fuente Marcos, Carlos; de la Fuente Marcos, Raúl (January 2018). "Asteroid 2017 FZ2 et al.: signs of recent mass-shedding from YORP?". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 473 (3): 3434–3453. arXiv:1709.09379. Bibcode:2018MNRAS.473.3434D. doi:10.1093/mnras/stx2540.
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