Arjuna asteroid

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The Arjuna asteroids (also known as "Arjunas") are a dynamical group of asteroids in the Solar System. Arjunas are near-Earth objects (NEOs) whose orbits are very Earth-like in character, having low inclination, orbital periods close to one year, and low eccentricity. The group is named after Arjuna, a central hero in Hindu historic script Mahabharata. The definition is somewhat more relevant and overlaps the definition of the four well-established Apollo, Amor, Aten and Atira groups. They constitute a dynamically cold group of small NEOs that experience repeated trappings in the 1:1 mean-motion resonance with the Earth. [1] [2]

Contents

Members

Potential members of the Arjuna group with their Apollo (APO) or Aten (ATE) group classification in parentheses, include:

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quasi-satellite</span> Type of satellite in sync with another orbit

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">524522 Zoozve</span> Temporary quasi-satellite of Venus

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<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.

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

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2020 PN1 is a sub-kilometer asteroid, classified as a near-Earth object of the Aten group, that is a temporary horseshoe companion to the Earth. There are dozens of known Earth horseshoe librators, some of which switch periodically between the quasi-satellite and the horseshoe co-orbital states.

2009 SH2 is a sub-kilometer near-Earth asteroid of the Aten group, discovered by the Siding Spring Survey at Siding Spring Observatory, Australia on 18 September 2009. It is in a co-orbital configuration with Earth, a type of 1:1 orbital resonance where the asteroid appears to librate around Earth's path in a horseshoe orbit when viewed in a corotating reference frame with Earth. The co-orbital state of 2009 SH2 is only temporary as it has entered it about 30 years ago and will leave it in about 100 years into the future.

References

  1. de la Fuente Marcos, Carlos; de la Fuente Marcos, Raúl (July 2013). "A resonant family of dynamically cold small bodies in the near-Earth asteroid belt". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters . 434 (1): L1–L5. arXiv: 1305.2825 . Bibcode:2013MNRAS.434L...1D. doi: 10.1093/mnrasl/slt062 .
  2. de la Fuente Marcos, C.; de la Fuente Marcos, R. (January 2015). "Geometric characterization of the Arjuna orbital domain". Astronomische Nachrichten . 336 (1): 5. arXiv: 1410.4104 . Bibcode:2015AN....336....5D. doi:10.1002/asna.201412133.

Further reading