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 4 September 2017 ( JD 2458000.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 4 | |
Observation arc | 8.00 yr (2,921 days) |
Aphelion | 31.940 AU |
Perihelion | 28.088 AU |
30.014 AU | |
Eccentricity | 0.0642 |
164.43 yr (60,059 days) | |
301.81 ° | |
0° 0m 21.6s / day | |
Inclination | 25.044° |
9.3277° | |
90.167° | |
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]