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Smithsonian/NASA ADS Astronomy
Abstract Service
A preliminary analysis of the orbit of the Mars Trojan asteroid (5261)
Eureka
Mikkola, S., Innanen, K., Muinonen, K., Bowell, E.
Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy, vol. 58, no. 1, p. 53-64
(CeMDA Homepage )
01/1994
Abstract
Observations and results of orbit determination of the first known Mars
Trojan asteroid (5261) Eureka are presented. We have numerically
calculated the evolution of the orbital elements, and have analyzed the
behavior of the motion during the next 2 Myr. Strong perturbations by
planets other than Mars seem to stabilize the eccentricity of the
asteroid by stirring the high order resonances present in the elliptic
restricted problem. As a result, the orbit appears stable at least on
megayear timescales. The difference of the mean longitudes of Mars and
Eureka and the semimajor axis of the asteroid form a pair of variables
that essentially behave in an adiabatic manner, while the evolution of
the other orbital elements is largely determined by the pertubations due
to other planets.