2019 UO14 explained

Minorplanet:yes
Discoverer:Pan-STARRS 1
Discovery Site:Haleakala, Hawaii
Discovered:23 October 2019
Epoch:17 October 2024 (JD 2458770.8)
Uncertainty:1
Observation Arc:3205 days
Aphelion:12.110 AU
Perihelion:7.4846 AU
Semimajor:9.797 AU
Eccentricity:0.236
Mean Anomaly:58.80761°
Mean Motion:0.03214010°/day
Inclination:32.828°
Moid:6.54192 AU
Jupiter Moid:2.69283 AU
Saturn Moid:1.20089 AU
Mean Diameter:~12 km
Abs Magnitude:13.31-13.35

2019 UO14 is the first ever confirmed Saturnian trojan, orbiting the Sun around the L4 Lagrangian point. It was discovered on 23 October 2019 by the Pan-STARRS 1 telescope at Haleakala, Hawaii.[1] The object was captured probably a few thousand years ago, and will remain there for 1,000 more years until influences from other outer planets remove 2019 UO14 from its current trojan orbit.

Orbit

Before Saturn captured 2019 UO14, it was floating around the Solar System as a centaur. 2000 years ago, Saturn trapped the centaur in its L4 point, making it into a trojan. However, due to continuous pulling from Jupiter and Uranus, eventually 2019 UO14 would be ejected from its trojan orbit. It is suggested that there will be more Saturnian trojans to be discovered, since Saturn has a large gravitational pull.[2]

Sources

Notes and References

  1. Web site: IAU Minor Planet Center . 2024-10-26 . minorplanetcenter.net.
  2. Web site: Yirka . Bob . Phys.org . Saturn Trojan asteroid confirmed . 2024-10-29 . phys.org . en.