Mars Trojan asteroid
Encyclopedia
Trojan (astronomy)
In astronomy, a Trojan is a minor planet or natural satellite that shares an orbit with a larger planet or moon, but does not collide with it because it orbits around one of the two Lagrangian points of stability , and , which lie approximately 60° ahead of and behind the larger body,...
that share the orbit
Orbit
In physics, an orbit is the gravitationally curved path of an object around a point in space, for example the orbit of a planet around the center of a star system, such as the Solar System...
of the planet
Planet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
around the Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
. They can be found around the two Lagrangian point
Lagrangian point
The Lagrangian points are the five positions in an orbital configuration where a small object affected only by gravity can theoretically be stationary relative to two larger objects...
s 60° ahead of and behind Mars.
Presently, this family contains four known asteroids:
- 5261 Eureka5261 Eureka5261 Eureka is the first asteroid discovered that turned out to be a Mars trojan asteroid. It was discovered by David H. Levy and Henry Holt at Palomar Observatory on June 20, 1990. It trails Mars at a distance varying by only 0.3 AU during each revolution...
See also
- Trojan asteroidTrojan asteroidThe Jupiter Trojans, commonly called Trojans or Trojan asteroids, are a large group of objects that share the orbit of the planet Jupiter around the Sun. Relative to Jupiter, each Trojan librates around one of the planet's two Lagrangian points of stability, and , that respectively lie 60° ahead...
s: asteroids that reside in trojan points- Earth trojansEarth Trojan asteroidEarth trojans are asteroids that orbit in the vicinity of the Earth-Sun Lagrangian points and . They are named after the Trojan asteroids that are associated with the analogous Lagrangian points of Jupiter....
- Jupiter trojans
- Neptune trojanNeptune TrojanNeptune trojans are Kuiper belt object-like bodies in solar orbit that have the same orbital period as Neptune and follow roughly the same orbital path...
s
- Earth trojans