* Astronomy

Asteroid (20461) Dioretsa (1999 LD31) is an asteroid discovered in 1999 notable for its unusual orbit, which is highly eccentric and retrograde. Its name is the word 'asteroid' spelled backwards to reflect this fact. It is one of twenty or so known asteroids in the Solar System that have a retrograde orbit.
Dioretsa's orbit is otherwise similar to a comet's; it has a perihelion of 2.4 AU and an aphelion of 45.3 AU. This has led to speculation that Dioretsa was originally an object from the Oort cloud.
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