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(311999) 2007 NS2

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(311999) 2007 NS2
Discovery[1]
Discovery siteObservatorio Astronómico de La Sagra
Discovery date14 July 2007
Designations
Martian L5Martian L5
Orbital characteristics[2][3]
Epoch13 January 2016 (JD2457400.5)
Uncertainty parameter0
Observation arc6296 days (17.24 yr)
Aphelion1.6061055AU(240.26996Gm)
Perihelion1.4414495 AU (215.63778 Gm)
1.5237775 AU (227.95387 Gm)
Eccentricity0.0540289
1.88yr(687.04d)
29.476921°
0.5239885°/day
Inclination18.62037°
282.49476°
176.94930°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions800–1600 m
18.1

(311999) 2007 NS2is anasteroidandMars trojanorbiting near theL5pointofMars.

Discovery, orbit and physical properties[edit]

(311999) 2007 NS2was discovered on 14 July 2007, by theObservatorio Astronómico de La Sagra.[4][5][6][7][8] Its orbit is characterized by low eccentricity (0.054), moderate inclination (18.6°) and a semi-major axis of 1.52 AU.[8]Upon discovery, it was classified asMars-crosserby theMinor Planet Center.Its orbit is well determined as it is currently (March 2013) based on 87 observations with a data-arc span of 4,800 days.[2]2007 NS2has an absolute magnitude of 17.8, which gives a characteristic diameter of 870 m.[2]

Mars trojan and orbital evolution[edit]

Jean Meeussuspected that(311999) 2007 NS2was a Mars Trojan, and this was confirmed by Reiner Stoss's analysis of two sets of observations dating from 1998 on the MPC database.[9]It was confirmed to be a Mars Trojan numerically in 2012.[10]Recent calculations confirm that it is a stableL5Mars Trojan asteroidwith a libration period of 1310 years and an amplitude of 14°.[11][12]These values as well as its short-term orbital evolution are similar to those of5261 Eureka.Out of all known Mars Trojans, it currently has the smallest relative (to Mars) semimajor axis, 0.000059 AU.[11]

Origin[edit]

Long-termnumerical integrationsshow that its orbit is very stable on Gyr time-scales (1 Gyr = 1 billion years). As in the case of Eureka, calculations in both directions of time (4.5 Gyr into the past and 4.5 Gyr into the future) indicate that(311999) 2007 NS2may be a primordial object, perhaps a survivor of the planetesimal population that formed in the terrestrial planets region early in the history of theSolar System.[11]

Animation of 2007 NS2 relative to Sun and Mars 1600-2500
Sun·2007 NS2·Mars

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"Major News About Minor Objects".16 July 2007. Archived fromthe originalon 6 August 2019.Retrieved22 April2009.
  2. ^abc"311999 (2007 NS2) orbit diagram".JPL Small-Body Database.Jet Propulsion Laboratory.SPK-ID:2311999.Retrieved28 March2016.
  3. ^AstDys-1
  4. ^2007 NS2 discovery blog
  5. ^Discovery MPEC
  6. ^Update MPEC
  7. ^New Scientist article on the discovery
  8. ^abMPC data on 2007 NS2
  9. ^"Table of contents".Britastro.org.Retrieved29 October2013.
  10. ^ Schwarz, R.; Dvorak, R. (2012). "Trojan capture by terrestrial planets".Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy.113(1): 23.arXiv:1611.07413.Bibcode:2012CeMDA.113...23S.doi:10.1007/s10569-012-9404-4.S2CID254375599.
  11. ^abc de la Fuente Marcos, Carlos; de la Fuente Marcos, Raúl (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.
  12. ^ 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.S2CID119186791.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

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