(614689) 2020 XL5
(614689) 2020 XL5 is a near-Earth asteroid and Earth trojan discovered by the Pan-STARRS 1 survey at Haleakala Observatory, Hawaii on 12 December 2020. It oscillates around the Sun–Earth L4 Lagrangian point (leading 60°), one of the dynamically stable locations where the combined gravitational force acts through the Sun's and Earth's barycenter. Analysis of 2020 XL5's trojan orbit stability suggests it will remain around Earth's L4 point for at least four thousand years until gravitational perturbations from repeated close encounters with Venus destabilize its trojan configuration. With a diameter about 1.2 km (0.75 mi), 2020 XL5 is the second Earth trojan discovered, after 2010 TK7, and is the largest of its kind known.
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Pan-STARRS 1 |
| Discovery site | Haleakala Obs. |
| Discovery date | 12 December 2020 |
| Designations | |
MPC designation | (614689) 2020 XL5 |
Alternative designations | 2020 XL5 · P11aRcq |
Minor planet category | Earth trojan · NEO Apollo |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch 21 January 2022 (JD 2459600.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 8.88 yr (3,243 days) |
| Earliest precovery date | 23 December 2012 |
| Aphelion | 1.388 AU |
| Perihelion | 0.6133 AU |
Semi-major axis | 1.001 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.38713 |
Orbital period (sidereal) | 1.00 yr (365.7 d) |
Mean anomaly | 316.420° |
Mean motion | 0° 59m 4.269s / day |
| Inclination | 13.847° |
Longitude of ascending node | 153.598° |
| 87.981° | |
| Earth MOID | 0.07571 AU (11,326,000 km) |
| Venus MOID | 0.02726 AU (4,078,000 km) |
| Physical characteristics | |
Mean diameter | 1.18±0.08 km |
| 0.06±0.03 | |
| C | |
| 20–23 | |
| 18.58+0.16 −0.15 (r-band) | |
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