Classifying and characterizing the evolution of minimum orbit intersection distance for near-Earth asteroids

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Hu, Shoucun, Chen, Yuanyuan, Li, Xinran, Wang, Xiuhai, Wang, Xuefeng
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Hu, Shoucun
Chen, Yuanyuan
Li, Xinran
Wang, Xiuhai
Wang, Xuefeng
author_facet Hu, Shoucun
Chen, Yuanyuan
Li, Xinran
Wang, Xiuhai
Wang, Xuefeng
contents In this paper, the minimum orbit intersection distances (MOIDs) of near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) over the next 200 years were computed and analyzed in detail. It was shown that the MOID of a NEA relative to the Earth-Moon barycenter (EMB) is usually a superior metric for predicting a potential impact than that relative to the Earth. Subsequently, a novel MOID Evolution Index (MEI) spanning from 0.0 to 9.9 was proposed and the orbits of NEAs are classified into 100 distinct categories by considering the variations of the MOID over time, which is useful for quickly screening and prioritizing hazardous asteroids for future research. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that a linear fitting to the MOID evolution provides a simple yet valid approach for most of the NEAs, which is useful for quickly estimating the MOID value without the need to perform an orbit propagation. As a result, a scheme with several parameters was proposed to characterize the MOID variations as well as the relative position information of the critical points along the orbits associated with the minimum distances. A database incorporating these parameters and the MEI values was therefore established for the cataloged NEAs, enabling the derivation of statistically constrained upper bounds for secular MOID drift rate as function of the semi-major axes. Finally, some special orbital configurations and dynamical mechanisms that may lead to a large deviation from the linear fit or multiple orbit crossings were also investigated, indicating the intricate nature in the patterns of MOID evolution for some NEAs.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2505_01686
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Classifying and characterizing the evolution of minimum orbit intersection distance for near-Earth asteroids
Hu, Shoucun
Chen, Yuanyuan
Li, Xinran
Wang, Xiuhai
Wang, Xuefeng
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
In this paper, the minimum orbit intersection distances (MOIDs) of near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) over the next 200 years were computed and analyzed in detail. It was shown that the MOID of a NEA relative to the Earth-Moon barycenter (EMB) is usually a superior metric for predicting a potential impact than that relative to the Earth. Subsequently, a novel MOID Evolution Index (MEI) spanning from 0.0 to 9.9 was proposed and the orbits of NEAs are classified into 100 distinct categories by considering the variations of the MOID over time, which is useful for quickly screening and prioritizing hazardous asteroids for future research. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that a linear fitting to the MOID evolution provides a simple yet valid approach for most of the NEAs, which is useful for quickly estimating the MOID value without the need to perform an orbit propagation. As a result, a scheme with several parameters was proposed to characterize the MOID variations as well as the relative position information of the critical points along the orbits associated with the minimum distances. A database incorporating these parameters and the MEI values was therefore established for the cataloged NEAs, enabling the derivation of statistically constrained upper bounds for secular MOID drift rate as function of the semi-major axes. Finally, some special orbital configurations and dynamical mechanisms that may lead to a large deviation from the linear fit or multiple orbit crossings were also investigated, indicating the intricate nature in the patterns of MOID evolution for some NEAs.
title Classifying and characterizing the evolution of minimum orbit intersection distance for near-Earth asteroids
topic Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.01686