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Discovery
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|---|---|
| Discovered by | Deep Ecliptic Survey |
| Discovery date | 21 August 2001[1] |
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Designations
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| Alternate name(s) | MPO157352 |
| Minor planet category |
Trojan asteroid |
| Epoch 2011-Aug-27.0 (JD 2455800.5) | |
| Aphelion | 31.326 AU |
| Perihelion | 29.468 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 30.397 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.0306 |
| Orbital period | 167.59 yr (61212 d) |
| Mean anomaly | 56.8° |
| Inclination | 1.3213° |
| Longitude of ascending node | 151.55° |
| Argument of perihelion | 168.1° |
| Satellites | none |
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Physical characteristics
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| Dimensions | 60–160 km[3] |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 8.2 |
2001 QR322 (also written 2001 QR322) was the first Neptune trojan discovered, in 2001 by the Deep Ecliptic Survey. It orbits ahead of Neptune at its L4 Lagrangian point.[2][4]
With an absolute magnitude of 7.8[1] to 8.2,[2] it has a diameter in the range of 60 to 160 km.[3]—though in general, the Minor Planet Center (MPC) has better asteroid magnitude parameters.
Other Neptune trojans have been discovered since. A study by Scott S. Sheppard and Chad Trujillo from the Carnegie Institution suggests that Neptune could possibly have twenty times more trojans than Jupiter.[5]
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