Related papers: A Martian Origin for the Mars Trojan Asteroids

The origin of Mars's small moons, Phobos and Deimos, remains unknown. They are typically thought either to be captured asteroids or to have accreted from a debris disk produced by a giant impact. Here, we present an alternative scenario…

Of the four giant planets in the Solar system, only Jupiter and Neptune are currently known to possess swarms of Trojan asteroids - small objects that experience a 1:1 mean motion resonance with their host planet. In Lykawka et al. (2009),…

The Trojan asteroids orbit about the Lagrangian points of Jupiter and the residence times about their present location are very long for most of them. If these bodies originated in the outer Solar System, they should be mainly composed of…

We report near-infrared (0.7-2.5 micron) reflectance spectra for each of the six target asteroids of the forthcoming NASA Discovery-class mission Lucy. Five Jupiter Trojans (the binary (617) Patroclus system, (3548) Eurybates, (21900) Orus,…

Aims. The goal of this investigation is to determine the origin and surface composition of the asteroid (121514) 1999 UJ7, the only currently known L4 Martian Trojan asteroid. Methods. We have obtained visible reflectance spectra and…

Trojan asteroids are minor planets that share the orbit of a planet about the Sun and librate around the L4 or L5 Lagrangian points of stability. They are important solar-system fossils because they carry information on early Solar System…

To date, reflectance spectra of Jupiter Trojan asteroids have revealed no distinctive absorption features. For this reason, the surface composition of these objects remains a subject of speculation. Spectra have revealed, however, that the…

All the Trojan asteroids orbit about the Sun at roughly the same heliocentric distance as Jupiter. Differences in the observed visible reflection spectra range from neutral to red, with no ultra-red objects found so far. Given that the…

The paper is devoted to investigate the capture of asteroids by Venus, Earth and Mars into the 1:1 mean motion resonance especially into Trojan orbits. Current theoretical studies predict that Trojan asteroids are a frequent by-product of…

The long-standing co-orbital asteroids have been thought to be the possible source of zodiacal dust ring around the orbit of Venus, but inconsistent conclusions on the orbital stability thus existence of Venus Trojans are found in…

Throughout the history of the solar system, Mars has experienced continuous asteroidal impacts. These impacts have produced impact-generated Mars ejecta, and a fraction of this debris is delivered to Earth as Martian meteorites. Another…

The Trojan asteroids remain quite poorly understood, yet their physical properties provide unique perspective on chemical and dynamical processes that shaped the Solar System. The current study was undertaken to investigate surface…

Trojan asteroids are found in the equilateral triangle Lagrange points of the Sun-Jupiter system in great number, though they also exist less prolifically in other parts of the Solar System. Despite up to planetary mass Trojans being…

In a previous paper we simulated the orbital evolution of dust particles from the Jupiter Trojan asteroids ejected by the impacts of interplanetary particles, and evaluated their overall configuration in the form of dust arcs. Here we…

The problem of accretion in the Trojan 1:1 resonance is akin to the standard problem of planet formation, transplanted from a star-centered disk to a disk centered on the Lagrange point. The newly discovered class of Neptune Trojans…

Asteroids with satellites are natural laboratories to constrain the formation and evolution of our solar system. The binary Trojan asteroid (624) Hektor is the only known Trojan asteroid to possess a small satellite. Based on W.M. Keck…

Durda et al. (2004), using numerical models, suggested that binary asteroids with large separation, called Escaping Ejecta Binaries (EEBs), can be created by fragments ejected from a disruptive impact event. It is thought that six binary…

A giant impact is commonly thought to explain the dramatic contrast in elevation and crustal thickness between the two hemispheres of Mars known as the "Martian Dichotomy". Initially, this scenario referred to an impact in the northern…

Aims. We investigate the influence of the Yarkovsky force on the long-term orbital evolution of Jupiter Trojan asteroids. Methods. Clones of the observed population with different sizes and different thermal properties were numerically…

Due to their strong resonances with their host planet, Trojan asteroids can remain in stable orbits for billions of years. As a result, they are powerful probes for constraining the dynamical and chemical history of the solar system.…