(101429) 1998 VF31

(101429) 1998 VF₃₁

Discovery[1]
Discovered by	LINEAR
Discovery site	Socorro, New Mexico
Discovery date	November 13, 1998
Designations
Minor planet category	Martian L5
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 2455200.5 (2010-Jan-04.0)
Aphelion	1.6772711 AU
Perihelion	1.3710141 AU
Semi-major axis	1.5241426 AU
Eccentricity	0.1004686
Orbital period	687.2849216d 1.88 yr 1.00058445 Martian years
Mean anomaly	124.35751°
Inclination	31.29561°
Longitude of ascending node	229.08991°
Argument of perihelion	310.53337°
Physical characteristics
Spectral type	S-type asteroid[2]
Absolute magnitude (H)	17.4

(101429) 1998 VF₃₁ is a small asteroid which orbits the L₅ point trailing 60° behind the orbit of Mars. It is in a highly stable orbit around the Martian Lagrange point, and was originally thought to be spectroscopically similar to 5261 Eureka, suggesting they may both be primordial Martian asteroids.^[3]

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

• 7 Iris
• 40 Harmonia
• 57 Mnemosyne
• 63 Ausonia
• 984 Gretia
• 5261 Eureka

External links

• NASA JPL Small-Body Database Browser on (101429) 1998 VF31

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "JPL Small-Body Database Browser". http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=101429. Retrieved December 3, 2009. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Rivkin, Andrew S.; et al. (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. 
3. ^ Rivkin, Andrew. S.; Binzel, R. P.; Howell, E. S.; Bus, S. J.; and 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.