| Discovery [1] [2] [3] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | |
| Discovery site | Las Campanas Obs. |
| Discovery date | 7 October 2005 (discovery: first observation only) |
| Designations | |
| 2005 TN53 | |
| Orbital characteristics [1] | |
| Epoch 21 November 2025 (JD 2461000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 4 | |
| Observation arc | 8.00 yr (2,921 days) |
| Aphelion | 32.451 AU |
| Perihelion | 28.154 AU |
| 30.303 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0709 |
| 166.81 yr (60,928 days) | |
| 301.81° | |
| 0° 0m 21.6s / day | |
| Inclination | 24.989° |
| 9.280° | |
| 85.696° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | |
| 23.7 [6] | |
| 9.0 [1] | |
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. [2] [3] 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.
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. [1]
It has the same orbital period as Neptune and orbits at the L4 Lagrangian point about 60° ahead of Neptune. [4] It has an inclination of 25 degrees. [1] [4]
The discoverers estimate that 2005 TN53 has a mean-diameter of 80 kilometers based on a magnitude of 23.7. [6] 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. [5]
Due to its orbital uncertainty, this minor planet has not been numbered and its official discoverers have not been determined. [1] [2] 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. [7]
