Discovery date 7 March 2010 Perihelion 21.146 AU Aphelion 41 m Discovery site La Silla Observatory | MPC designation (316179) 2010 EN65 Observation arc 25.45 yr (9,296 days) Discovered 7 March 2010 Inclination 19.218° Asteroid group Centaur | |
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Discovered by D. L. RabinowitzS. W. Tourtellotte David L. Rabinowitz discoveries 90377 Sedna, (229762) 2007 UK126, 2008 ST291 | ||
(316179) 2010 EN65 is a trans-Neptunian object (TNO) orbiting the Sun . However, with a semi-major axis of 30.8 AU, the object is actually a jumping Neptune trojan, co-orbital with Neptune, as the giant planet has a similar semi-major axis of 30.1 AU. The body is jumping from the Lagrangian point L4 into L5 via L3. As of 2016, it is 54 AU from Neptune. By 2070, it will be 69 AU from Neptune.
Contents
Discovery
(316179) 2010 EN65 was discovered on March 7, 2010 by David L. Rabinowitz and Suzanne W. Tourtellotte using the 1.3-m reflector from Cerro Tololo.
Orbit
(316179) 2010 EN65 follows a rather eccentric orbit (0.31) with a semi-major axis of 30.72 AU and an inclination of 19.3º. Its orbit is well determined with images dating back to 1989.
Physical properties
(316179) 2010 EN65 is a quite large minor body with an absolute magnitude of 6.9 and a diameter likely close to 200 km (120 mi).
Jumping trojan
(316179) 2010 EN65 is another co-orbital of Neptune, the second brightest after the quasi-satellite (309239) 2007 RW10. (316179) 2010 EN65 is currently transitioning from librating around Lagrangian point L4 to librating around L5. This unusual trojan-like behavior is termed "jumping trojan".