Neptune trojan

In 2001, the first Neptune trojan was discovered, , near Neptune's region, and with it the fifth known populated stable reservoir of small bodies in the Solar System. In 2005, the discovery of the high-inclination trojan has indicated that the Neptune trojans populate thick clouds, which has constrained their possible origins (see below). On August 12, 2010, the first trojan, , was announced. However, New Horizons may not have had sufficient downlink bandwidth, so it was eventually decided to give precedence to the preparations for the Pluto flyby. == Dynamics and origin ==

with a period equal to Neptune's orbital period. Neptune is held stationary. (Click to view.) The orbits of Neptune trojans are highly stable; Neptune may have retained up to 50% of the original post-migration trojan population over the age of the Solar System. The unexpected high-inclination trojans are the key to understanding the origin and evolution of the population as a whole. The existence of high-inclination Neptune trojans points to a capture during planetary migration instead of in situ or collisional formation. This process is reversible allowing new trojans to be captured when the planetary migration continues. For high-inclination trojans to be captured the migration must have been slow, or their inclinations must have been acquired previously. == Colors ==

The first four discovered Neptune trojans have similar colors. == Naming ==

In 2015, the IAU adopted a new naming scheme for Neptune trojans, which are to be named after Amazons, with no differentiation between objects in and . The Amazons were an all-female warrior tribe that fought in the Trojan War on the side of the Trojans against the Greeks. As of 2025, the named Neptune trojans are 385571 Otrera (after Otrera, the first Amazonian queen in Greek mythology) and 385695 Clete (after Clete, an Amazon and the attendant to the Amazons' queen Penthesilea, who led the Amazons in the Trojan war). == Members ==

The amount of high-inclination objects in such a small sample, in which relatively fewer high-inclination Neptune trojans are known due to observational biases, and with diameters from Sheppard and Trujillo's paper on , unless otherwise noted. Members Members Members and were thought to be Neptune trojans at the time of their discovery, but further observations have disconfirmed their membership. is currently thought to be in a 3:5 resonance with Neptune. is currently following a quasi-satellite loop around Neptune. == See also ==