5261 Eureka

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5261 Eureka is the first Mars trojan discovered.[1] It was discovered by David H. Levy and Henry Holt at Palomar Observatory on 20 June 1990.[2] It trails Mars (at the L5 point) at a distance varying by only 0.3 AU during each revolution (with a secular trend superimposed, changing the distance from 1.5–1.8 AU around 1850 to 1.3–1.6 AU around 2400). Minimum distances from Earth, Venus, and Jupiter, are 0.5, 0.8, and 3.5 AU, respectively.

Long-term numerical integration shows that the orbit is stable. Kimmo A. Innanen and Seppo Mikkola note that "contrary to intuition, there is clear empirical evidence for the stability of motion around the L4 and L5 points of all the terrestrial planets over a timeframe of several million years".

Since the discovery of 5261 Eureka, the Minor Planet Center has recognized three other asteroids as Martian trojans: Template:Mpl at the L4 point, Template:Mpl at the L5 point,[1] and Template:Mpl, also at the L5 point.[3] At least five other asteroids in near-1:1 resonances with Mars have been discovered, but they do not exhibit trojan behavior. They are Template:Mpl, Template:Mpl, (36017) 1999 ND43, Template:Mpl and (152704) 1998 SD4. Due to close orbital similarities, most of the other, smaller, members of the L5 group are hypothesized to be fragments of 5261 Eureka that were detached after it was spun up by the YORP effect (consistent with its rotational period of 2.69 h).[4]

The infrared spectrum for 5261 Eureka is typical for an A-type asteroid, but the visual spectrum is consistent with an evolved form of achondrite called an angrite. A-class asteroids are tinted red in hue, with a moderate albedo. The asteroid is located deep within a stable Lagrangian zone of Mars, which is considered indicative of a primordial origin—meaning the asteroid has most likely been in this orbit for much of the history of the Solar System.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

Satellite

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On 28 November 2011, a natural satellite of 5261 Eureka was found. This unnamed moon is about 0.46 km in diameter and orbits 2.1 km from Eureka. The satellite's existence was announced in September 2014.[5]

See also

References

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  3. MPEC 2007-O09 : 2007 NS2
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Further reading

External links

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