6144 Kondojiro

6144 Kondojiro (1994 EQ₃) is an asteroid discovered on 14 March 1994 by Kin Endate and Kazuro Watanabe at the Kitami Observatory in eastern Hokkaido, Japan. It is named after Jiro Kondo, a Japanese Egyptologist and professor of archaeology at Waseda University.

Orbit and classification

The orbit of 6144 Kondojiro is unusual for a number of reasons, including:

• An eccentricity greater than 0.3,
• A semi-major axis between that of an outer main-belt asteroid (3.2 AU < a < 4.6 AU) and a Jupiter trojan (4.6 AU < a < 5.5 AU),
• A relatively low inclination for a Jupiter-crossing minor planet, and
• A lack of proper orbital elements due to recurring perturbations by Jupiter.

It is difficult to classify an object with such a peculiar orbit using a conventional definition. Despite this, the Minor Planet Center (MPC) lists it as a main-belt asteroid, even though both the orbital and physical properties of 6144 Kondojiro suggest that it may be an extinct comet rather than a true asteroid. The JPL Small-Body Database lists only 33 such objects that have an observation arc greater than 30 days.

See also

• List of minor planets
• 944 Hidalgo
• 3552 Don Quixote

References

External links

• 6144 Kondojiro at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
• 6144 Kondojiro at the JPL Small-Body Database