2011 SP189 is a small asteroid and Mars trojan orbiting near the L5 point of Mars (60 degrees behind Mars on its orbit).[2][3][4]

2011 SP189
Discovery
Discovered byMt. Lemmon Survey
Discovery date29 September 2011
Designations
2011 SP189
Martian L5 Martian L5
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 31 May 2020 (JD 2459000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc2390 days (6.54 yr)
Aphelion1.5852549 AU (237.15076 Gm)
Perihelion1.462275 AU (218.7532 Gm)
1.5237649 AU (227.95198 Gm)
Eccentricity0.040354
1.88 yr (687.0295 d)
110.302°
0° 31m 26.382s /day
Inclination19.89778°
0.663826°
122.545°
Earth MOID0.490971 AU (73.4482 Gm)
Jupiter MOID3.40399 AU (509.230 Gm)
Physical characteristics
300 m
0.5-0.05 (assumed)
20.9

Discovery, orbit and physical properties

edit

2011 SP189 was first observed on 29 September 2011 by the Mount Lemmon Survey.[5] Its orbit is characterized by low eccentricity (0.040), moderate inclination (19.9°) and a semi-major axis of 1.52 AU.[5] Upon discovery, it was classified as Mars-crosser by the Minor Planet Center. Its orbit is well determined as it is currently (January 2021) based on 45 observations with a data-arc span of 2390 days.[1] 2011 SP189 has an absolute magnitude of 20.9 which gives a characteristic diameter of 300 m.[1]

Mars trojan and orbital evolution

edit

Recent calculations indicate that it is a stable L5 Mars trojan with a libration period of 1300 yr and an amplitude of 20°.[2] These values are similar to those of 5261 Eureka and related objects and it may be a member of the so-called Eureka family.

Mars trojan

edit

L4 (leading):

L5 (trailing):

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2011 SP189)". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  2. ^ a b Christou, Apostolos A.; Borisov, Galin; Dell'Oro, Aldo; Jacobson, Seth A.; Cellino, Alberto; Unda-Sanzana, Eduardo (January 2020). "Population control of Mars Trojans by the Yarkovsky & YORP effects". Icarus. 335 (1): 113370 (34 pages). arXiv:1907.12858. Bibcode:2020Icar..33513370C. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2019.07.004. S2CID 198985887.
  3. ^ Christou, Apostolos A.; Borisov, Galin; Dell'Oro, Aldo; Cellino, Alberto; Devogèle, Maxime (January 2021). "Composition and origin of L5 Trojan asteroids of Mars: Insights from spectroscopy". Icarus. 354 (1): 113994 (22 pages). arXiv:2010.10947. Bibcode:2021Icar..35413994C. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2020.113994. S2CID 224814529.
  4. ^ de la Fuente Marcos, Carlos; de la Fuente Marcos, Raúl (March 2021). "Using Mars co-orbitals to estimate the importance of rotation-induced YORP break-up events in Earth co-orbital space". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 501 (4): 6007–6025. arXiv:2101.02563. Bibcode:2021MNRAS.501.6007D. doi:10.1093/mnras/stab062.
  5. ^ a b MPC data on 2011 SP189
Further reading
edit