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Old December 22nd 18, 10:22 PM posted to sci.astro.amateur
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Default what (if anything) "defines" an orbit as being "cometary" vs "asteroidal"?

Is there some combination of orbital element values that establishes the orbit of a minor solar system body as being "cometary" as opposed to "asteroidal"? Something akin to "eccentricity 0.6, inclination 30d (or retrograde)"? I understand that highly-inclined, highly-eccentric orbits are more likely to be those of a comet than are those orbits with low such values, but are these parameters actually "defined"? (My question is about the orbit itself, not the body - I understand that comets can have "asteroidal orbits" (e.g. 29P) and that asteroids can have "cometary orbits" (e.g. 2006 EX52))