2011 HM102

The asteroid 2011 HM102 is the ninth confirmed Neptune Trojans of the planet Neptune. This is the term for asteroids that run on the Lagrange points of the orbit of Neptune around the sun. 2011 HM102 is also the third Trojan to be associated with the Lagrangian point L5. In this position, he runs the Neptune 60 ° behind.

Discovery and designation

2011 HM102 was on 29 April 2011 as part of the "New Horizons KBO Search Survey " program for the detection of trans-Neptunian objects as potential targets for a passage to a more distant Kuiper belt object after the flyby of the New Horizons spacecraft at Pluto system in July 2015 discovered. The discovery of another L5 Neptune Trojan therefore succeeded by chance. The first recording of the asteroid comes April 29, 2011, the discovery was announced on 8 October 2012.

Web properties

2011 HM102 orbits the sun on a prograde, moderately elliptical orbit between 4.138919 billion km ( 27.667 AU) and 4.850153 billion km ( 32.421 AU) distance from its center. The orbital eccentricity is 0.079, the orbit is tilted 29.425 degrees to the ecliptic.

The orbital period of 2004 KV18 is 164.68 years or 60,150 days, 6 hours, 45 minutes and 5 seconds.

2011 HM102 has been the most inclined orbit of all Neptune Trojans. Even with the Jupiter Trojans have only 5% to a higher orbital inclination. According to calculations, the orbit of the asteroid for a further one million years should remain stable.

Physical Properties

The diameter of 2011 HM102 is estimated to be about 90 to 180 km, depending on the as yet unknown albedo of the asteroid. With an absolute brightness of 8.1 like it is so far the brightest L5 Trojan ever in the solar system. He is at least as bright or slightly brighter than ( 617) Patroclus, but the formed binary system with its moon Menoetius. If it is at 2011 HM102 actually a single object and its albedo is similar to Patroclus - Menoetius system, it also makes it also the largest L5 Trojan ever in the solar system.

It has a round shape and is similar in color to the previously discovered L4 Trojans of Neptune, which suggests that Trojans have on both Lagrangian points a similar composition.

Research

Since its discovery in 2011, the Trojan was observed about a year and so let calculate its orbit. He was previously observed on April 29, 2011 to April 17, 2012, a total of 145 times so far, what an observation sheet of 354 days gave ( of Feb. 2014).

New Horizons Flyby

2011 HM102 is the first trans-Neptunian object with an observation by the spacecraft New Horizons was launched in 2006 by a distant flyby is possible. The end of 2013 the distance was about 2011 HM102 1.2 AE ( 180 million km ), which ever was at this time the next celestial body (within 4 AE) to the probe. Despite the distance, the Trojan may be bright enough to be detected by one of the cameras from New Horizons. However, since the flyby occurs relatively shortly before the Pluto passage, however, is still unlikely to be that the systems of the probe and the New Horizons ground crew (who have not planned observation of the Trojan ) have spare capacity to 2011 HM102 observed at all. The probe is on August 24, 2014 to pass the orbit of Neptune.