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Discovery[1]
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| Discovered by | LINEAR |
| Discovery site | Socorro, New Mexico |
| Discovery date | November 13, 1998 |
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Designations
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| Minor planet category |
Martian L5 |
| Epoch 2455200.5 (2010-Jan-04.0) |
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| Aphelion | 1.6772711 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.3710141 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 1.5241426 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.1004686 |
| Orbital period | 687.2849216d 1.88 yr 1.00058445 Martian years |
| Mean anomaly | 124.35751° |
| Inclination | 31.29561° |
| Longitude of ascending node | 229.08991° |
| Argument of perihelion | 310.53337° |
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Physical characteristics
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| Spectral type | S-type asteroid[2] |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 17.4 |
(101429) 1998 VF31 is a small asteroid which orbits the L5 point trailing 60° behind the orbit of Mars. It is in a highly stable orbit around the Martian Lagrange point, and was originally thought to be spectroscopically similar to 5261 Eureka, suggesting they may both be primordial Martian asteroids.[3]
Spectroscopic observations through 2007 indicate that it has a large proportion of metal and achondrites on its surface (either with or without a mesosiderite contribution); which could also indicate that the surface regolith has undergone space weathering. These observations also reveal differences in the spectra with 5261 Eureka, suggesting they may not be related to each other after all.[2]
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