2005 TN53 is an inclined Neptune trojan leading Neptune's orbit in the outer Solar System, approximately 80 kilometers in diameter. It was first observed on 7 October 2005, by American astronomers Scott Sheppard and Chad Trujillo at Las Campanas Observatory in the Atacama desert of Chile.[2][3] It was the third such body to be discovered, and the first with a significant orbital inclination, which showed that the population as a whole is very dynamically excited.
2005 TN53 belongs to the larger L4 group, which leads 60° ahead Neptune's orbit. It orbits the Sun with a semi-major axis of 30.014 AU at a distance of 28.1–31.9 AU once every 164 years and 5 months (60,059 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.06 and an inclination of 25° with respect to the ecliptic.[1]
The discoverers estimate that 2005 TN53 has a mean-diameter of 80 kilometers based on a magnitude of 23.7.[6] Based on a generic magnitude-to-diameter conversion, it measures approximately 68 kilometers in diameter using an absolute magnitude of 9.0 and an assumed albedo of 0.10.[5]
Numbering and naming
Due to its orbital uncertainty, this minor planet has not been numbered and its official discoverers have not been determined.[1][2] If named, it will follow the naming scheme already established with 385571 Otrera, which is to name these objects after figures related to the Amazons, an all-female warrior tribe that fought in the Trojan War on the side of the Trojans against the Greek.[7]
