- Source: (316179) 2010 EN65
(316179) 2010 EN65 is a trans-Neptunian object 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.
Discovery
2010 EN65 was discovered on 7 March 2010, by David L. Rabinowitz and Suzanne W. Tourtellotte using the 1.3-meter Small and Medium Research Telescope System (SMARTS) at Cerro Tololo Observatory in Chile.
Orbit
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
2010 EN65 is a quite large minor body with an absolute magnitude of 7.17 and an estimated diameter of 176 kilometers (109 miles) based on an assumed albedo of 0.08.
Jumping trojan
2010 EN65 is another co-orbital of Neptune, the second brightest after the quasi-satellite (309239) 2007 RW10. 2010 EN65 is currently transitioning from librating around Lagrangian point L4 to librating around L5. This unusual trojan-like behavior is termed "jumping trojan".
Numbering and naming
This minor planet was numbered by the Minor Planet Center on 7 February 2012 (M.P.C. 78220). As of 2021, it has not been named. If named, it will follow the naming scheme already established with 385571 Otrera and 385695 Clete, which is to name these objects after figures related to the Amazons, an all-female warrior tribe that fought in the Trojan War on the side of the Trojans against the Greek.
References
External links
List of Centaurs and Scattered Disk Objects, Minor Planet Center
List of Trans Neptunian Objects, Minor Planet Center
(316179) 2010 EN65 at the JPL Small-Body Database