Dynamics of Asteroid 3200 Phaethon Under Overlap of Different Resonances

Abstract

The paper is focused on studying the motion of asteroid 3200 Phaethon which approached the Earth in December 2017. We consider the dynamics of asteroid 3200 Phaethon, reveal its encounters with planets, mean motion and secular resonances, and estimate the predictability time and the causes of chaoticity. A peculiar feature in the dynamics of the object is that it passes through the unstable orbital resonance 3/7 with Venus and exhibits a gamut of apsidal-nodal resonances with Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, and Jupiter, as well as a large number of close encounters with terrestrial planets. These properties result in a chaotic character of the motion beyond a time interval between the years 1780 and 2350.