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Published Online June 15, 2006
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1127173

Reports

Submitted on March 8, 2006
Accepted on June 6, 2006

A Thick Cloud of Neptune Trojans and Their Colors

Scott S. Sheppard 1* and Chadwick A. Trujillo 2

1 Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington 5241 Broad Branch Road NW, Washington, DC 20015, USA.
2 Gemini Observatory 670 North A'ohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Scott S. Sheppard , E-mail: sheppard{at}dtm.ciw.edu

The dynamical and physical properties of asteroids offer one of the few constraints on the formation, evolution and migration of the giant planets. Trojan asteroids share a planet's semi-major axis but lead or follow it by about 60 degrees near the two triangular Lagrangian points of gravitational equilibrium. Here we report the discovery of a high inclination Neptune Trojan, 2005 TN53. This demonstrates that the Neptune Trojan population occupies a thick disk which is indicative of "freeze-in" capture instead of in-situ or collisional formation. The Neptune Trojans appear to have a population several times larger than the Jupiter Trojans. Our color measurements show that Neptune Trojans have statistically indistinguishable slightly red colors suggesting they had a common formation and evolutionary history and are distinct from the classical Kuiper Belt objects.




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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)