2011 SL25

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2011 SL25
Discovery
Discovered by Alianza S4
Discovery site Cerro Burek
Discovery date21 September 2011
Designations
2011 SL25
Martian L5 Minor Planets - Martian L5.svg
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 13 January 2016 (JD 2457400.5)
Uncertainty parameter 2
Observation arc 1637 days (4.48 yr)
Aphelion 1.698231  AU (254.0517  Gm)
Perihelion 1.349540 AU (201.8883 Gm)
1.523885 AU (227.9700 Gm)
Eccentricity 0.114409
1.88 yr (687.11 d)
55.63918°
0° 31m 26.159s /day
Inclination 21.49603°
9.413048°
53.31859°
Earth  MOID 0.396438 AU (59.3063 Gm)
Jupiter  MOID 3.52931 AU (527.977 Gm)
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter
550±230  m
0.5-0.05 (assumed)
19.4

    2011 SL25, also written as 2011 SL25, is an asteroid and Mars trojan candidate that shares the orbit of the planet Mars at its L5 point. [2]

    Contents

    Discovery, orbit and physical properties

    2011 SL25 was discovered on 21 September 2011 at the Alianza S4 Observatory ( I08 ) on Cerro Burek in Argentina [3] and classified as Mars-crosser by the Minor Planet Center. It follows a relatively eccentric orbit (0.11) with a semi-major axis of 1.52 AU. [3] This object has noticeable orbital inclination (21.5°). [3] Its orbit was initially poorly constrained, with only 76 observations over 42 days, but was recovered in January 2014. [1] 2011 SL25 has an absolute magnitude of 19.5 which gives a characteristic diameter of 575 m. [1]

    Mars trojan and orbital evolution

    Recent calculations indicate that it is a stable L5 Mars Trojan with a libration period of 1400 yr and an amplitude of 18°. [2] [4] values as well as its short-term orbital evolution are similar to those of 5261 Eureka. [5] [6]

    Origin

    Long-term numerical integrations show that its orbit is stable on Gyr time-scales (1 Gyr = 1 billion years). It appears to be stable at least for 4.5 Gyr but its current orbit indicates that it has not been a dynamical companion to Mars for the entire history of the Solar System. [2]

    See also

    Related Research Articles

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">5261 Eureka</span> Trojan asteroid of Mars

    5261 Eureka is the first Mars trojan discovered. It was discovered by David H. Levy and Henry Holt at Palomar Observatory on 20 June 1990. It trails Mars (at the L5 point) at a distance varying by only 0.3 AU during each revolution (with a secular trend superimposed, changing the distance from 1.5–1.8 AU around 1850 to 1.3–1.6 AU around 2400). Minimum distances from Earth, Venus, and Jupiter, are 0.5, 0.8, and 3.5 AU, respectively.

    Mount Lemmon Survey (MLS) is a part of the Catalina Sky Survey with observatory code G96. MLS uses a 1.52 m (60 in) cassegrain reflector telescope operated by the Steward Observatory at Mount Lemmon Observatory, which is located at 2,791 meters (9,157 ft) in the Santa Catalina Mountains northeast of Tucson, Arizona.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Trojan (celestial body)</span> Objects sharing the orbit of a larger one

    In astronomy, a trojan is a small celestial body (mostly asteroids) that shares the orbit of a larger body, remaining in a stable orbit approximately 60° ahead of or behind the main body near one of its Lagrangian points L4 and L5. Trojans can share the orbits of planets or of large moons.

    In astronomy, a co-orbital configuration is a configuration of two or more astronomical objects orbiting at the same, or very similar, distance from their primary, i.e. they are in a 1:1 mean-motion resonance..

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Mars trojan</span> Celestial bodies that share the orbit of Mars

    The Mars trojans are a group of trojan objects that share the orbit of the planet Mars around the Sun. They can be found around the two Lagrangian points 60° ahead of and behind Mars. The origin of the Mars trojans is not well understood. One theory suggests that they were primordial objects left over from the formation of Mars that were captured in its Lagrangian points as the Solar System was forming. However, spectral studies of the Mars trojans indicate this may not be the case. Another explanation involves asteroids chaotically wandering into the Mars Lagrangian points later in the Solar System's formation. This is also questionable considering the short dynamical lifetimes of these objects. The spectra of Eureka and two other Mars trojans indicates an olivine-rich composition. Since olivine-rich objects are rare in the asteroid belt it has been suggested that some of the Mars trojans are captured debris from a large orbit-altering impact on Mars when it encountered a planetary embryo.

    <span class="nowrap">(121514) 1999 UJ<sub>7</sub></span>

    (121514) 1999 UJ7 is a small asteroid orbiting near the L4 point of Mars (60 degrees ahead Mars on its orbit). As of September 2011, it is the only known asteroid to orbit the leading L4 point of Mars, although at least three other asteroids orbit Mars's trailing L5 point: 5261 Eureka, (101429) 1998 VF31, and 2007 NS2. Not only does (121514) 1999 UJ7 orbit on the other side of Mars from other similar asteroids, its spectrum is different as well, which is puzzling because all of the Martian trojans seem to be in very stable orbits.

    <span class="nowrap">(101429) 1998 VF<sub>31</sub></span>

    (101429) 1998 VF31 is a sub-kilometer asteroid that orbits near Mars's L5 Lagrangian point, on average trailing 60° behind it. Its orbit is highly stable, and was originally thought to be spectroscopically similar to 5261 Eureka, suggesting they may both be primordial Martian asteroids.

    <span class="nowrap">(311999) 2007 NS<sub>2</sub></span>

    (311999) 2007 NS2 is an asteroid and Mars trojan orbiting near the L5 point of Mars.

    <span class="nowrap">(385250) 2001 DH<sub>47</sub></span>

    (385250) 2001 DH47, provisional designation 2001 DH47, is a sub-kilometer asteroid and Mars trojan orbiting 60° behind the orbit of Mars near the L5 point.

    <span class="nowrap">2011 SC<sub>191</sub></span>

    2011 SC191 is a small asteroid and Mars trojan orbiting near the L5 point of Mars (60 degrees behind Mars on its orbit).

    <span class="nowrap">2011 UN<sub>63</sub></span>

    2011 UN63, also written as 2011 UN63, is a Mars trojan, an asteroid orbiting near the L5 point of Mars (60 degrees behind Mars on its orbit).

    2012 XE133 is an asteroid, classified as near-Earth object of the Aten group that is a temporary co-orbital of Venus.

    <span class="nowrap">2011 QF<sub>99</sub></span>

    Asteroid 2011 QF99 is a minor planet from the outer Solar System and the first known Uranus trojan to be discovered. It measures approximately 60 kilometers (37 miles) in diameter, assuming an albedo of 0.05. It was first observed 29 August 2011 during a deep survey of trans-Neptunian objects conducted with the Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope, but its identification as Uranian trojan was not announced until 2013.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 SE</span> Small asteroid and Mars trojan

    2009 SE is a small asteroid and Mars trojan orbiting near the L5 point of Mars (60 degrees behind Mars on its orbit).

    <span class="nowrap">2018 EC<sub>4</sub></span>

    2018 EC4 is a small asteroid and Mars trojan orbiting near the L5 point of Mars (60 degrees behind Mars on its orbit).

    <span class="nowrap">2018 FC<sub>4</sub></span>

    2018 FC4 is a small asteroid and Mars trojan orbiting near the L5 point of Mars (60 degrees behind Mars on its orbit).

    <span class="nowrap">2011 SP<sub>189</sub></span>

    2011 SP189 is a small asteroid and Mars trojan orbiting near the L5 point of Mars (60 degrees behind Mars on its orbit).

    <span class="nowrap">2011 UB<sub>256</sub></span>

    2011 UB256 is a small asteroid and Mars trojan orbiting near the L5 point of Mars (60 degrees behind Mars on its orbit).

    <span class="nowrap">2016 CP<sub>31</sub></span>

    2016 CP31 is a small asteroid and Mars trojan orbiting near the L5 point of Mars (60 degrees behind Mars on its orbit).

    2020 VT1 is a small asteroid, classified as a near-Earth object of the Amor group, that is a temporary horseshoe companion to Mars.

    References

    1. 1 2 3 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2011 SL25)". Jet Propulsion Laboratory . Retrieved 31 March 2016.
    2. 1 2 3 de la Fuente Marcos, C.; de la Fuente Marcos, R. (April 2013). "Three new stable L5 Mars Trojans". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters . 432 (1): L31–L35. arXiv: 1303.0124 . Bibcode:2013MNRAS.432L..31D. doi:10.1093/mnrasl/slt028. S2CID   118693165.
    3. 1 2 3 MPC data on 2011 SL25
    4. Christou, A. A. (2013). "Orbital clustering of Martian Trojans: An asteroid family in the inner solar system?". Icarus. 224 (1): 144–153. arXiv: 1303.0420 . Bibcode:2013Icar..224..144C. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2013.02.013. S2CID   119186791.
    5. Christou, Apostolos A.; Borisov, Galin; Dell'Oro, Aldo; Cellino, Alberto; Devogèle, Maxime (January 2021). "Composition and origin of L5 Trojan asteroids of Mars: Insights from spectroscopy". Icarus. 354 (1): 113994 (22 pages). arXiv: 2010.10947 . Bibcode:2021Icar..35413994C. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2020.113994. S2CID   224814529.
    6. de la Fuente Marcos, Carlos; de la Fuente Marcos, Raúl (March 2021). "Using Mars co-orbitals to estimate the importance of rotation-induced YORP break-up events in Earth co-orbital space". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society . 501 (4): 6007–6025. arXiv: 2101.02563 . Bibcode:2021MNRAS.501.6007D. doi:10.1093/mnras/stab062. ISSN   0035-8711.
    Further reading