(101429) 1998 VF31 is a small asteroid that orbits near Mars's L5 Lagrangian point, on average trailing 60° behind it. Its orbit is highly stable, and was originally thought to be spectroscopically similar to 5261 Eureka, suggesting they may both be primordial Martian asteroids.[3]
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | LINEAR |
| Discovery site | Socorro, New Mexico |
| Discovery date | November 13, 1998 |
| Designations | |
Martian L5  , Mars-crossing asteroid | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 2455200.5 (2010-Jan-04.0) | |
| Aphelion | 1.6772711 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.3710141 AU |
| 1.5241426 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1004686 |
| 687.2849216d 1.88 yr 1.00058445 Martian years | |
| 124.35751° | |
| Inclination | 31.29561° |
| 229.08991° | |
| 310.53337° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
Spectral type | S-type asteroid[2] |
| 17.4 | |
Spectroscopic observations through 2007 indicate that it has a large proportion of metal and achondrites on its surface (either with or without a mesosiderite contribution); which could also indicate that the surface regolith has undergone space weathering. These observations also reveal differences in the spectra with 5261 Eureka, suggesting they may not be related to each other after all.[2]
See also
References
- ^ a b "JPL Small-Body Database Browser". Retrieved December 3, 2009.
- ^ a b c Rivkin, Andrew S.; Trilling, David E.; Thomas, Cristina A.; DeMeo, Francesca; Spahr, Timothy B.; Binzel, Richard P. (December 2007). "Composition of the L5 Mars Trojans: Neighbors, not Siblings". Icarus. 192 (2): 434–441. arXiv:0709.1925. Bibcode:2007Icar..192..434R. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2007.06.026.
- ^ Rivkin, Andrew. S.; Binzel, R. P.; Howell, E. S.; Bus, S. J.; Grier, J. A. (October 2003). "Spectroscopy and photometry of Mars Trojans". Icarus. 165 (2): 349–354. Bibcode:2003Icar..165..349R. doi:10.1016/S0019-1035(03)00211-2.
External links
- NASA JPL Small-Body Database Browser on (101429) 1998 VF31
