2005 TN53

2005 TN53
Discovery
Discovered by
Discovery siteLas Campanas Obs.
Discovery date7 October 2005
(discovery: first observation only)
Designations
Orbital characteristics
Epoch 21 November 2025 (JD 2461000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 4
Observation arc8.00 yr (2,921 days)
Aphelion32.451 AU
Perihelion28.154 AU
30.303 AU
Eccentricity0.0709
166.81 yr (60,928 days)
301.81°
0° 0m 21.6s / day
Inclination24.989°
9.280°
85.696°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions
  • 68 km (est. at 0.10)
  • 80 km
23.7
9.0

2005 TN53 is an inclined Neptune trojan leading Neptune's orbit in the outer Solar System, approximately 80 kilometers in diameter. It was first observed on 7 October 2005, by American astronomers Scott Sheppard and Chad Trujillo at Las Campanas Observatory in the Atacama desert of Chile. It was the third such body to be discovered, and the first with a significant orbital inclination, which showed that the population as a whole is very dynamically excited.

Orbit and classification

Neptune trojans are resonant trans-Neptunian objects (TNO) in a 1:1 mean-motion orbital resonance with Neptune. These trojans have a semi-major axis and an orbital period very similar to Neptune's (30.10 AU; 164.8 years).

2005 TN53 belongs to the larger L4 group, which leads 60° ahead Neptune's orbit. It orbits the Sun with a semi-major axis of 30.014 AU at a distance of 28.1–31.9 AU once every 164 years and 5 months (60,059 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.06 and an inclination of 25° with respect to the ecliptic.

It has the same orbital period as Neptune and orbits at the L4 Lagrangian point about 60° ahead of Neptune. It has an inclination of 25 degrees.

Physical characteristics

Diameter

The discoverers estimate that 2005 TN53 has a mean-diameter of 80 kilometers based on a magnitude of 23.7. Based on a generic magnitude-to-diameter conversion, it measures approximately 68 kilometers in diameter using an absolute magnitude of 9.0 and an assumed albedo of 0.10.

Numbering and naming

Due to its orbital uncertainty, this minor planet has not been numbered and its official discoverers have not been determined. If named, it will follow the naming scheme already established with 385571 Otrera, which is to name these objects after figures related to the Amazons, an all-female warrior tribe that fought in the Trojan War on the side of the Trojans against the Greek.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2005 TN53)" (2013-10-06 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "2005 TN53". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  3. 1 2 Sheppard, Scott S.; Trujillo, Chadwick A. (July 2006). "A Thick Cloud of Neptune Trojans and Their Colors" (PDF). Science. 313 (5786): 511–514.(SciHomepage). Bibcode:2006Sci...313..511S. doi:10.1126/science.1127173. PMID 16778021. S2CID 35721399. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 February 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 "List of Neptune Trojans". Minor Planet Center. 10 July 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  5. 1 2 "Asteroid Size Estimator". CNEOS/JPL. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 Lakdawalla, Emily (13 August 2010). "2008 LC15, the first Trojan asteroid discovered in Neptune's L5 point". The Planetary Society. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  7. ↑ Ticha, J.; et al. (10 April 2018). "DIVISION F / Working Group for Small Body Nomenclature Working Group for Small Body Nomenclature. THE TRIENNIAL REPORT (2015 Sept 1 - 2018 Feb 15)" (PDF). IAU. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 August 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2018.