(62412) 2000 SY178
asteroid
(62412) 2000 SY178 is an unnamed active asteroid located in the outer main asteroid belt. It was discovered by the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) project at Socorro, New Mexico on 28 September 2000. It is a member of the extensive Hygiea family, which originated from the large asteroid 10 Hygiea around 3 billion years ago. It is around 10 km (6.2 mi) in size and rotates rapidly, revolving once every 3.33 hours. 2000 SY178's activity was first observed in 2014, when it briefly hosted a faint comet-like tail.
Orbit
2000 SY178 orbits with an average orbital distance of 3.15 astronomical units (AU), placing it in the outer main asteroid belt. Along its orbit, its distance from the Sun varies from 2.92 AU at perihelion to 3.39 AU at aphelion due to its orbital eccentricity of 0.08. It has a moderate orbital inclination of 4.7° with respect to the ecliptic plane and takes 5.6 years to complete one orbit. It has a Jovian Tisserand's parameter (TJ) of 3.2, typical for main belt asteroids and outside the typical TJ value of 2–3 for Jupiter family comets. Its orbit is stable over the age of the Solar System; it has a Lyapunov time of 1.53 billion years (Gyr).
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “(62412) 2000 SY178” is asteroid. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through SY178 and asteroid, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “asteroid” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q15175630. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2000 and 2014.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “(62412) 2000 SY178”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow (62412) 2000 SY178 primary sources, (62412) 2000 SY178 archive and SY178 research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “(62412) 2000 SY178”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “(62412) 2000 SY178” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.