 Shape model of Leucus viewed from multiple orthogonal perspectives | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | SCAP |
| Discovery site | Beijing Xinglong Obs. |
| Discovery date | 12 October 1997 |
| Designations | |
| (11351) Leucus | |
| Pronunciation | /ˈljuːkəs/[2] |
Named after | Leucus(Greek mythology)[1] |
| 1997 TS25 · 1996 VP39 | |
| Jupiter trojan[1][3] Greek[4] · background[5] | |
| Orbital characteristics[3] | |
| Epoch 25 February 2023 (JD 2460000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Earliestprecovery date | 25 July 1982[1] |
| Aphelion | 5.652AU |
| Perihelion | 4.953 AU |
| 5.302 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0659 |
| 12.21 yr (4,460 d) | |
| 43.784° | |
| 0° 4m 50.607s / day | |
| Inclination | 11.546° |
| 251.087° | |
| 160.955° | |
| Jupiter MOID | 0.0942 AU |
| TJupiter | 2.955 |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 60.8 × 39.2 × 27.8 km[6] |
| 41±0.7 km (surface equivalent)[6] | |
| 445.683±0.007 h[6][3] | |
| 13° (wrtecliptic)[6] 10° (wrt orbit)[6] | |
| 208°[6] | |
| +77°[6] | |
| 0.043±0.002[6] | |
| D[7] B–V =0.739±0.044[8] V–R =0.498±0.044[8] V–I =0.900±0.057[8] | |
| 10.979±0.037[6] | |
11351 Leucus/ˈljuːkəs/ is a mid-sizedJupiter trojan from theGreek camp, approximately 40 kilometers (25 miles) in diameter. It is a target of theLucy mission, scheduled for aflyby in April 2028.[7][9] The assumedD-type asteroid is an exceptionallyslow rotator with arotation period of 466 hours.[3] It was discovered on 12 October 1997 by theBeijing Schmidt CCD Asteroid Program (SCAP) atXinglong Station in the Chinese province of Hebei, and later named after the Achaean warriorLeucus from Greek mythology.[1]
Leucus is a darkJupiter trojanasteroid in a 1:1orbital resonance with Jupiter. It is located in the leadingGreek camp at Jupiter'sL4Lagrangian point, 60° ahead of its orbit(seeTrojans in astronomy). It is also a non-family asteroid in theJovian background population.[5]
It orbits the Sun at a distance of 5.0–5.6 AU once every 12 years and 2 months (4,440 days;semi-major axis of 5.29 AU). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.06 and aninclination of 12° with respect to theecliptic.[3] The body'sobservation arc begins with aprecovery taken at theSiding Spring Observatory in July 1982, more than 15 years prior to its official discovery observation at Xinglong.[1]
Leucus is planned to be visited by theLucy spacecraft, which launched in 2021. Theflyby is scheduled for 18 April 2028, and will approach the asteroid to a distance of 1,000 km (620 mi) at a relative velocity of 5.9 km/s (13,000 mph).[7]
Leucus is aD-type asteroid,[7] which is the dominantspectral type among the Jupiter trojans, with the remainder being mostly carbonaceousC-type and primitiveP-type asteroids.
During spring 2013, a rotationallightcurve of Leucus was obtained fromphotometric observations made by astronomersRobert Stephens and Daniel Coley at the Center for Solar System Studies (CS3), California, using a 0.35/0.4-meterSchmidt-Cassegrain telescope. The lightcurve showed an exceptionally slowrotation period of 513.7 hours with a brightness variation of 0.53 inmagnitude (U=2+). No evidence of a non-principal axis rotation (NPAR) was found.[10] It is one of theslowest rotators known to exist.
In preparation for the planned visit by theLucy spacecraft, Leucus was once again observed by astronomersMarc Buie atSwRI andStefano Mottola atDLR in 2016. The obtained bimodal lightcurve gave a somewhat shorter period of 440 hours and an amplitude of 0.7 magnitude.[11]
According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical SatelliteIRAS, and NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission, Leucus has a lowalbedo of 0.06 and 0.08, with a diameter of 42.1 and 34.2 kilometers, respectively.[12][13] TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives a lower albedo of 0.05 and a diameter of 42.1 kilometers, in accordance with the result obtained by IRAS.[14]
Thisminor planet was named fromGreek mythology, after the Achaean warriorLeucus in Homer'sIliad. He was a companion ofOdysseus.[1] Leucus was killed during theTrojan War byAntiphus, one of the fifty sons of KingPriam of Troy.[15] The approved naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 22 February 2016 (M.P.C. 98711).[16]
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