Loading AI tools
Asteroid From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
2018 FC4 is a small asteroid and Mars trojan orbiting near the L5 point of Mars (60 degrees behind Mars on its orbit).[2]
Discovery | |
---|---|
Discovered by | Mt. Lemmon Survey |
Discovery date | 21 March 2018 |
Designations | |
2018 FC4 | |
Martian L5 | |
Orbital characteristics[1] | |
Epoch 31 May 2020 (JD 2459000.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
Observation arc | 790 days (2.16 yr) |
Aphelion | 1.5498684 AU (231.85701 Gm) |
Perihelion | 1.497823 AU (224.0711 Gm) |
1.5238457 AU (227.96407 Gm) | |
Eccentricity | 0.017077 |
1.88 yr (687.0841 d) | |
4.660° | |
0° 31m 26.232s /day | |
Inclination | 22.1437° |
187.55390° | |
52.009° | |
Earth MOID | 0.507683 AU (75.9483 Gm) |
Jupiter MOID | 3.41333 AU (510.627 Gm) |
Physical characteristics | |
Dimensions | 200 m |
0.5-0.05 (assumed) | |
21.3 | |
2018 FC4 was first observed on 21 March 2018 by the Mt. Lemmon Survey, but it had already been imaged (but not identified as an asteroid) by the Pan-STARRS 1 telescope system at Haleakala on the previous night.[3] Its orbit is characterized by very low eccentricity (0.017), moderate inclination (22.1°) and a semi-major axis of 1.52 AU.[3] Upon discovery, it was classified as Mars-crosser by the Minor Planet Center. Its orbit is reasonably well determined as it is currently (January 2021) based on 35 observations with a data-arc span of 790 days.[1] 2018 FC4 has an absolute magnitude of 21.3 which gives a characteristic diameter of 200 m.[1]
Recent calculations indicate that it is a stable L5 Mars trojan with a libration period of 1300 yr and an amplitude of 20°.[2] These values are similar to those of 5261 Eureka and related objects and it may be a member of the so-called Eureka family.
L4 (leading):
L5 (trailing):
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.