(277810) 2006 FV35

Discovery

was discovered on 29 March 2006 by astronomer J. V. Scotti using the Spacewatch 0.9 meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. Scotti was working as a part of the Spacewatch survey project, and the asteroid's discovery was announced by the Minor Planet Center (MPC) in a Minor Planets Electronic Circular on 31 March. It was given the number (277810) by the MPC on 17 May 2011. As of November 2025, it remains unnamed; is its provisional designation.

Orbit

orbits the Sun with a semi-major axis of 1.001 astronomical units (AU), taking 366.04 days—almost exactly one year—to complete one orbit. It is classified as a near-Earth asteroid (NEA) and an Apollo asteroid; Apollo asteroids cross Earth's orbit and have semi-major axes above 1 AU. It has a low orbital inclination of 7.1° from the ecliptic plane and a high orbital eccentricity of 0.377, intersecting the orbit of Venus. Due to its high eccentricity, its distance to the Sun varies from 0.62 AU at perihelion to 1.38 AU at aphelion.

is a quasi-satellite of Earth, participating in a 1:1 mean-motion resonance with the planet. Quasi-satellites have principal libration angles \sigma = \lambda - \lambda_{p} that librate around 0°, appearing to distantly orbit Earth from its perspective despite never entering its Hill sphere. Currently, 's principal resonant angle librates with an amplitude of 25° and a period of about 200 years. Its quasi-satellite loop is relatively wide, remaining about 0.64 AU distant from Earth. All of Earth's known quasi-satellites are temporary, and their orbits will eventually evolve into other NEA dynamical configurations in the future. has been a quasi-satellite for about 10,000 years, and will remain one for 800 more years before a close encounter with Venus (within 0.05 AU) perturbs it from that state. Thereafter, it will likely remain an Earth co-orbital, transitioning between horseshoe, tadpole, and passing configurations.

Physical properties

's physical properties are poorly known. Using its absolute magnitude of 21.7, it has a calculated diameter of 130 - for an assumed albedo of 0.20–0.04.

Accessibility

With a semi-major axis of almost exactly 1 AU, has a relatively low transfer energy from Earth. The delta-v required to transfer to the asteroid varies between 11 and 13 km/s; this change in delta-v oscillates over an approximately 200-year period with the current transfer cost near its maximum of 13 km/s.

Notes

References

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References

1. "NEO Groups". NASA/JPL Near-Earth Object Program Office.
2. Gerhard Hahn. "EARN: 2006 FV₃₅".
3. Wajer, P.. (2010). "Dynamical evolution of Earth's quasi-satellites: 2004 GU9 and 2006 FV35". Icarus.
4. (February 2009). "Delta-v requirements for earth co-orbital rendezvous missions". [[Icarus (journal).