Extremely young asteroid pair (458271) 2010 UM26 and 2010 RN221

TL;DR

This study identifies the youngest known asteroid pair, (458271) 2010 UM26 and 2010 RN221, using high-precision observations and numerical simulations to determine their recent formation around 2003, with potential formation as recent as the 2000s.

Contribution

The paper provides the first detailed orbital analysis and age estimation of a very young asteroid pair, incorporating mutual gravitational effects for precise age determination.

Findings

Asteroids likely formed after 2000 with over 55% probability.

Orbital convergence around March 2003 indicates recent formation.

Including mutual gravity improves age estimation accuracy.

Abstract

Extremely similar heliocentric orbital elements of the main-belt objects (458271) 2010 UM26 and 2010 RN221 make them the tightest known pair and promise its very young age. We analyzed the conditions of its origin and determined its age. We conducted dedicated observations of (458271) 2010 UM26 and 2010 RN221 in summer 2022 that resulted in a high-accuracy astrometric set of data. Joining them with the previously available observations, we improved the precision of the orbit determination of both asteroids. We used numerical simulations backward in time to constrain the origin of this new pair by observing orbital convergence in the Cartesian space. Using a large number of possible clone variants of (458271) 2010 UM26 and 2010 RN221 we find they all converge in a narrow time interval around March 2003 having extremely tight minimum distances ($\leq 1000$ km) and minimum relative velocities ($\leq 3$ cm~s$^{-1}$). These conditions require to include mutual gravitational attraction of the asteroids constituting the pair for its age determination. Extending our model by this effect even improves the convergence results. We find there is more than $55$\% probability that the pair formed after the year 2000. However, quasi-satellite captures make the possible age uncertainty of this pair prolonged possibly to the 1960s. Still, this is by far the youngest known asteroid pair, a prime target for future astronomical observations.