A CCD Search for Lagrangian Asteroids of the Earth–Sun System

Whiteley, Robert J.; Tholen, David J.

doi:10.1006/icar.1998.5995

Cited by 36 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 12 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…although completing the survey for these objects will probably not be an easy task. Previous dedicated searches for hypothetical primordial Earth Trojan asteroids made by Whiteley and Tholen (1998) were able to go to limiting magnitude 22.8 but only covered tiny sky areas and therefore would not be efficient in discovering Earth coorbital NEAs.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…This problem can in principle be avoided by tracking the telescope at the object's expected rate of motion, as done by Whiteley and Tholen (1998) the ecliptic. This technique is useful if the latitudinal motion is nearly zero (which is a reasonable assumption when searching for a primordial population of Trojans in the vicinity of L 4 or L 5 ).…”

Section: The Distribution Of Earth Coorbitals In the Skymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Population of Near-Earth Asteroids in Coorbital Motion with the Earth

Morais¹,

Morbidelli

2002

Icarus

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We obtain the size and orbital distributions of near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) that are expected to be in the 1 : 1 mean motion resonance with the Earth in a steady state scenario. We predict that the number of such objects with absolute magnitudes H < 18 and H < 22 is 0.65 ± 0.12 and 16.3 ± 3.0, respectively. We also map the distribution in the sky of these Earth coorbital NEAs and conclude that these objects are not easily observed as they are distributed over a large sky area and spend most of their time away from opposition where most of them are too faint to be detected. c 2002 Elsevier Science (USA)

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: The Distribution Of Earth Coorbitals In the Skymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Population of Near-Earth Asteroids in Coorbital Motion with the Earth

Morais¹,

Morbidelli

2002

Icarus

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…2, while Southern hemisphere telescopes will have access to only that portion visible above the local horizon. Some seasonal variation will occur with the change in relative orientations throughout the year, as noted in Whiteley & Tholen (1998). The amount of variation will depend on geographic location.…”

Section: Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There have been some attempts at searching for Earth Trojans (ET) (Dunbar & Helin 1983; Whiteley & Tholen 1998; Connors et al 2000). Examination of a sky area of approximately 0.35 deg 2 by Whiteley & Tholen (1998) resulted in a crude upper limit on population estimates of ∼3 objects deg −2 , down to R = 22.8. The subsequent search by Connors et al (2000) covered ∼9 deg 2 , down to R = 22, with no ETs detected.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An optimal Earth Trojan asteroid search strategy

Todd

Tanga

Coward

et al. 2012

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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 formation, when collisions between bodies were more frequent. Discovery and study of terrestrial planet Trojans will help constrain models for the distribution of bodies and interactions in the inner Solar System. Since the discovery of the first outer planet Trojan in 1906, several thousand Jupiter Trojans have been found. Of the terrestrial planets there are four known Mars Trojans, and one Earth Trojan has been recently discovered. We present a new model that constrains optimal search areas, and imaging cadences for narrow and wide field survey telescopes including the Gaia satellite for the most efficient use of telescope time to maximize the probability of detecting additional Earth Trojans.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in MNRAS Letter

show abstract

“…The Earth is slightly more massive than Venus, and this augurs well for the existence of coorbiting satellite companions. The Earth has no known Trojans (Whiteley & Tholen 1998), but it does possess the asteroidal companion 3753 Cruithne, which moves on a temporary horseshoe orbit (Wiegert, Innanen & Mikkola 1997; Namouni, Christou & Murray 1999). The asteroid will persist on this horseshoe orbit for a few thousand years.…”

Section: Terrestrial Surveysmentioning

confidence: 99%

Asteroids in the inner Solar system - I. Existence

Tabachnik

Evans

2002

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ensembles of in‐plane and inclined orbits in the vicinity of the Lagrange points of the terrestrial planets are integrated for up to 100 Myr. The integrations incorporate the gravitational effects of the Sun and the eight planets (Pluto is neglected). Mercury is the least promising planet, as it is unable to retain tadpole orbits over 100‐Myr time‐scales. Mercurian Trojans probably do not exist, although there is evidence for long‐lived, corotating horseshoe orbits with small inclinations. Both Venus and the Earth are much more promising, as they possess rich families of stable tadpole and horseshoe orbits. Our survey of Trojans in the orbital plane of Venus is undertaken for 25 Myr. Some 40 per cent of the survivors are on tadpole orbits. For the Earth, the integrations are pursued for 50 Myr. The stable zones in the orbital plane are larger for the Earth than for Venus, but fewer of the survivors (∼20 per cent) are tadpoles. Both Venus and the Earth also have regions in which inclined test particles can endure near the Lagrange points. For Venus, only test particles close to the orbital plane are stable. For the Earth, there are two bands of stability, one at low inclinations and one at moderate inclinations The inclined test particles that evade close encounters are primarily moving on tadpole orbits. Two Martian Trojans (5261 Eureka and 1998 VF31) have been discovered over the last decade and both have orbits moderately inclined to the ecliptic (203 and 313 respectively). Our survey of in‐plane test particles near the Martian Lagrange points shows no survivors after 60 Myr. Low‐inclination test particles do not persist, as their inclinations are quickly increased until the effects of a secular resonance with Jupiter cause destabilization. Numerical integrations of inclined test particles for time‐spans of 25 Myr show stable zones for inclinations between 14° and 40°. However, there is a strong linear resonance with Jupiter that destabilizes a narrow band of inclinations at ∼29°. Both 5261 Eureka and 1998 VF31 lie deep within the stable zones, which suggests that they may be of primordial origin.

show abstract

A CCD Search for Lagrangian Asteroids of the Earth–Sun System

Cited by 36 publications

References 12 publications

The Population of Near-Earth Asteroids in Coorbital Motion with the Earth

The Population of Near-Earth Asteroids in Coorbital Motion with the Earth

An optimal Earth Trojan asteroid search strategy

Asteroids in the inner Solar system - I. Existence

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About