Neptune Trojan

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TNOs and similar bodies
Cis-Neptunian objects Centaurs Neptune Trojan Trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) Kuiper belt objects (KBOs) Classical KBOs (Cubewanos) Resonant KBOs Plutinos (2:3 Resonance) Scattered disc objects (SDOs) Oort cloud objects (OCOs)

As of May 2008, there are six^[1] known Neptune Trojans (named by analogy to the Trojan asteroids) which have the same orbital period as the planet.^[2] They lie in the elongated, curved region around the L₄ Lagrangian point 60° ahead of Neptune. These are 2001 QR₃₂₂, 2004 UP₁₀, 2005 TN₅₃, 2005 TO₇₄, 2006 RJ₁₀₃ and 2007 VL₃₀₅.

When 2007 RW₁₀ was first discovered it was believed to be a Neptune trojan.

The discovery of 2005 TN₅₃ in a high inclination (>25°) orbit is significant as it suggests a ‘thick’ cloud of Trojans.^[3] It is believed that large (radius ≈ 100 km) Neptune Trojans could outnumber Jupiter Trojans by an order of magnitude.^[4]^[5]

If any trailing (L₅) Neptune Trojans are discovered in the near future, it may be possible for the New Horizons spacecraft to investigate them as it passes through the region in 2014 en route to Pluto.

[edit] Notes and references

^ 2005 TN₇₄, listed earlier as a Neptune Trojan, is likely to be a Trans-Neptunian object (TNO) in a 3:5 resonance with Neptune.
^ List Of Neptune Trojans. Minor Planet Center. Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
^ Sheppard, Scott S.; Trujillo, Chadwick A. (June 2006). "A Thick Cloud of Neptune Trojans and Their Colors" (PDF). Science 313 (5786): 511–514. doi:10.1126/science.1127173.
^ E. I. Chiang and Y. Lithwick Neptune Trojans as a Testbed for Planet Formation, The Astrophysical Journal, 628, pp. 520–532 Preprint
^ Neptune May Have Thousands of Escorts. Space.com (30 January 2007). Retrieved on 2007-03-08.

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Lists: Minor planets · Asteroid groups and families · Binary asteroids · Asteroid moons See also: Near-Earth object · Dwarf planet · Planet · Solar System · Pronunciation of asteroid names · Meanings of asteroid names.

v • d • e Neptune

Major moons	Triton · Nereid

Characteristics	Rings · Great Dark Spot · Trojans · Moons

Discovery	John Couch Adams · Johann Gottfried Galle · Heinrich d'Arrest · William Lassell · Urbain Le Verrier

Exploration	Voyager program · Voyager 2

Trojans	2001 QR322 · 2004 UP10 · 2005 TN53 · 2005 TO74 · 2006 RJ103 · 2007 RW10

Related topics	Neptune-crosser asteroid · Neptune in fiction