On the Emmenthal distribution of highly inclined asteroids

Abstract

Highly inclined asteroids are objects with sin (i) > 0.3. Among highly inclined asteroids, we can distinguish between objects with inclinations smaller than that of the centre of the ?6= g - g6 secular resonance and objects at higher inclinations. Using the current mechanisms of dynamical mobility, it is not easy to increase the values of an asteroid with an initial small inclination to values higher than that of the centre of the ?6 resonance. The presence of highly inclined objects might therefore be related to the early phases of the Solar system.