In planetary astronomy, a centaur is a small Solar System body that orbits the Sun between Jupiter and Neptune and crosses the orbits of one or more of the giant planets. Centaurs generally have unstable orbits because they cross or have crossed the orbits of the giant planets; almost all their orbits have dynamic lifetimes of only a few million years, but there is one known centaur, 514107 Kaʻepaokaʻawela, which may be in a stable orbit. Centaurs typically exhibit the characteristics of both asteroids and comets. They are named after the mythological centaurs that were a mixture of horse and human. Observational bias toward large objects makes determination of the total centaur population difficult. Estimates for the number of centaurs in the Solar System more than 1 km in diameter range from as low as 44,000 to more than 10,000,000.
Caliban is the second-largest retrograde irregular satellite of Uranus. It was discovered on 6 September 1997 by Brett J. Gladman, Philip D. Nicholson, Joseph A. Burns, and John J. Kavelaars using the 200-inch Hale telescope together with Sycorax and given the temporary designation S/1997 U 1.
Sycorax is the largest irregular satellite of Uranus. Sycorax was discovered on 6 September 1997 by Brett J. Gladman, Philip D. Nicholson, Joseph A. Burns, and John J. Kavelaars using the 200-inch Hale telescope, together with Caliban, and given the temporary designation S/1997 U 2.
Neptune trojans are bodies that orbit the Sun near one of the stable Lagrangian points of Neptune, similar to the trojans of other planets. They therefore have approximately the same orbital period as Neptune and follow roughly the same orbital path. Thirty-one Neptune trojans are currently known, of which 27 orbit near the Sun–Neptune L4 Lagrangian point 60° ahead of Neptune and four orbit near Neptune's L5 region 60° behind Neptune. The Neptune trojans are termed 'trojans' by analogy with the Jupiter trojans.
The Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System located at Haleakala Observatory, Hawaii, US, consists of astronomical cameras, telescopes and a computing facility that is surveying the sky for moving or variable objects on a continual basis, and also producing accurate astrometry and photometry of already-detected objects. In January 2019 the second Pan-STARRS data release was announced. At 1.6 petabytes, it is the largest volume of astronomical data ever released.
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..
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.
83982 Crantor, prov. designation: 2002 GO9, is a centaur in a 1:1 resonance with Uranus, approximately 60 kilometers (37 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 12 April 2002, by astronomers of the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking at the Palomar Observatory in California, United States. This minor planet was named for Crantor from Greek mythology.
(322756) 2001 CK32 is a sub-kilometer asteroid and near-Earth object of the Aten group. It is also a transient Venus co-orbital, and a Mercury grazer as well as an Earth crosser. It was once designated as a potentially hazardous asteroid.
(310071) 2010 KR59, provisional designation 2010 KR59, is a trans-Neptunian object, approximately 110 kilometers in diameter. The object is trapped in a 1:1 mean motion resonance with Neptune, and rotates nearly every 9 hours around its axis. It was discovered on May 18, 2010 at 7:45 UT by the WISE spacecraft. The WISE telescope scanned the entire sky in infrared light from January 2010 to February 2011.
2013 ND15 (also written 2013 ND15) is an asteroid that is a temporary trojan of Venus, the first known Venus trojan.
2014 OL339 (also written 2014 OL339) is an Aten asteroid that is a temporary quasi-satellite of Earth, the fourth known Earth quasi-satellite.
(472651) 2015 DB216 is a centaur and Uranus co-orbital discovered on February 27, 2015, by the Mount Lemmon Survey. It is the second known centaur on a horseshoe orbit with Uranus, and the third Uranus co-orbital discovered after 2011 QF99 (a Trojan) and 83982 Crantor (a horseshoe librator). A second Uranian Trojan, 2014 YX49, was announced in 2017.
2014 YX49 is a centaur and Uranus co-orbital, approximately 77 kilometers (48 miles) in diameter, first observed on December 26, 2014, by the Pan-STARRS survey. It is the second known centaur on a tadpole orbit with Uranus, and the fourth Uranus co-orbital discovered after 83982 Crantor, 2011 QF99 and (472651) 2015 DB216.
2011 SP189 is a small asteroid and Mars trojan orbiting near the L5 point of Mars (60 degrees behind Mars on its orbit).
2011 UB256 is a small asteroid and Mars trojan orbiting near the L5 point of Mars (60 degrees behind Mars on its orbit).
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.
2013 VZ70 is a centaur on a horseshoe co-orbital configuration with Saturn. It was first observed on 1 November 2013 by the Outer Solar System Origins Survey at Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawaii, United States. The discovery was announced on 23 August 2021.
