SECOND EARTH TROJAN ASTEROID DISCOVERED
Imagine being an amateur astronomer and discovering an object that turns out to be gravitationally connected with our planet Earth. Amateur astronomer Tony Dunn has reported there is a second Trojan asteroid sharing the Earth’s orbit.
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What’s a Trojan? But what type of object is it? Does every planet have its own Trojans?
In astronomy, a rojan is a small celestial body, most of the times it is an asteroid, that shares the orbit of a larger one, remaining in a stable orbit approximately 60° ahead or behind the main body near one of the so-called 「Lagrange points」.
Trojans can share the orbits of planets or of large moons.
The term “trojan” originally referred to the “trojan asteroids” (Jovian trojans) that orbit close to the Lagrangian points of Jupiter. These have long been named for figures from the Trojan War of Greek mythology. By convention, the asteroids orbiting near the L4 point of Jupiter are named for the characters from the Greek side of the war, whereas those orbiting near the L5 of Jupiter are from the Trojan side. (we find, for example, 588 Achilles and 1172 Äneas!)
How big is a Trojan, and what it’s made of?
Like other asteroids, Trojan are space rocks.
We know some asteroids are as small as boulders. Others are as big as football fields. Some asteroids are almost as large as planets, and astronomers sometimes argue about whether really big asteroids ought to be called planets or not.
Asteroids are made of rock, metals and other elements. Some even contain water, astronomers say. Asteroids that are mostly stone sometimes are more like loose piles of rubble. Asteroids that are mostly iron are more, well, rock-solid.
Meteorites found on Earth often come from asteroids, and so they help astronomers figure out what’s in asteroids. An iron meteorite can be 91 per cent iron and 8.5 per cent nickel and might also contain cobalt. A stony meteorite can contain oxygen, silicon, magnesium, calcium and other elements.
Most Jupiter Trojans are D-class asteroids, which predominate in the outer regions of the asteroid belt. Very few have been classified as P or C-type asteroids.
Water hasn』t yet been detected on any of them; however, there is a possibility that some of them might contain it. Recent studies suggest that the Jupiter Trojans resemble comets or Kuiper Belt objects when it comes to their composition, mainly water-ice with a layer of dust; however, observations continue.
So, what was Tony Dunn discovery? And why it was so important?
Earth Trojans are hard to find because, during most of their orbits, they appear close to the Sun in the sky.
What about the first Earth Trojan? When was it discovered?
We are going to end this video, but first…here’s a bunch of 「Did you know that」… we collected for you!
Did you know that…
The second-largest Jupiter Trojan is 617 Patroclus. It has a diameter of 140 km / 86.9 mi.
The asteroid with the highest albedo of the Jupiter Trojans, and all known Trojans, is 4709 Ennomos – having an albedo of 0.18. This high albedo may indicate the presence of water-ice.
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