Dioretsa is a member of the damocloids,5 with a retrograde orbit and a negative TJupiter of −1.547. It is also a centaur, as its orbit has a semi-major axis in between that of Jupiter (5.5 AU) Neptune (30.1 AU).6 The Minor Planet Center lists it as a critical object and (other) unusual minor planet due to an orbital eccentricity of more than 0.5.7
It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.4–45.4 AU once every 116 years and 10 months (42,686 days; semi-major axis of 23.9 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.90 and an inclination of 160° with respect to the ecliptic.8 Its observation arc begins 12 months prior to its official discovery observation, with a precovery image taken by Spacewatch at Steward Observatory in June 1998.9 As of 2021, it was last observed in 2000 and its orbit still has an uncertainty of 2.10
Dioretsa is the first distant object with a retrograde orbit to be discovered, with 1999 LE31. An inclination of greater than 90° means that a body moves in a retrograde orbit. Dioretsa's orbit is otherwise similar to that of a comet. This has led to speculation that Dioretsa was originally an object from the Oort cloud.11
The minor planet's name "Dioretsa" is the word "asteroid" spelled backwards (an anadrome), and is the first numbered of currently 136 known (see Data Base Search of the Minor Planet Center) minor planets with a retrograde motion in the Solar System.12 The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 1 May 2003 (M.P.C. 48396).13
According to observations made with the 10-meter Keck Telescope, Dioretsa measures 14 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a low albedo of 0.03.14 It has an absolute magnitude of 13.8.15 As of 2018, Dioretsa's spectral type as well as its rotation period and shape remain unknown.1617
"20461 Dioretsa (1999 LD31)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 20 November 2018. https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=20461 ↩
Johnston, Wm. Robert (7 October 2018). "List of Known Trans-Neptunian Objects". Johnston's Archive. Retrieved 20 January 2018. http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/astro/tnoslist.html ↩
Harris, Alan W.; Delbó, Marco; Binzel, Richard P.; Davies, John K.; Roberts, Julie; Tholen, David J.; et al. (October 2001). "Visible to Thermal-Infrared Spectrophotometry of a Possible Inactive Cometary Nucleus". Icarus. 153 (2): 332–337. Bibcode:2001Icar..153..332H. doi:10.1006/icar.2001.6687. Retrieved 4 April 2016. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/bib_query?bibcode=2001Icar..153..332H ↩
"JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 20461 Dioretsa (1999 LD31)" (2000-12-29 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 20 November 2018. https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2020461 ↩
"List Of Other Unusual Objects". Minor Planet Center. 14 November 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2018. https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/lists/t_others.html ↩
Kankiewicz, Paweł; Włodarczyk, Ireneusz (11 July 2017). "Dynamical lifetimes of asteroids in retrograde orbits". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 468 (4): 4143–4150. arXiv:1703.01824. doi:10.1093/mnras/stx558. ISSN 0035-8711. https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/468/4/4143/3778505 ↩
Schmadel, Lutz D. (2006). "(20461) Dioretsa [24.4, 0.90, 160.2]". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (20461) Dioretsa, Addendum to Fifth Edition: 2003–2005. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 152. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-34361-5_1728. ISBN 978-3-540-34360-8. 978-3-540-34360-8 ↩
"MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 20 November 2018. https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/ECS/MPCArchive/MPCArchive_TBL.html ↩
"LCDB Data for (20461) Dioretsa". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 27 June 2017. http://www.minorplanet.info/PHP/generateOneAsteroidInfo.php?AstInfo=20461%7CDioretsa ↩