Trojan asteroids of Jupiter (coloured green) in front of and behind Jupiter along its orbital path. Also shown is the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter (white) and the Hilda family of asteroids (brown)
In astronomy, the adjective Trojan refers to asteroids or moons that share the same orbit as a larger planet or moon, but does not collide because it orbits within one of the two Lagrangian points of stability, L4 and L5, which results in it always orbiting 60° ahead of or behind the larger object. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (768x768, 188 KB)The inner Solar System, from the Sun to Jupiter. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (768x768, 188 KB)The inner Solar System, from the Sun to Jupiter. ... Adjective Jovian Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 70 kPa Hydrogen ~86% Helium ~14% Methane 0. ... Note: This article contains special characters. ... Hilda asteroids are asteroids with a semi-major axis between 3. ... A contour plot of the effective potential of a two-body system (the Sun and Earth here), showing the five Lagrange points. ...
The term originally referred to asteroids orbiting in Jupiter's Lagrangian points. Now, other objects have been found orbiting in the Lagrangian points of other planets. In addition, Trojan moons orbit in the Lagrangian points of some of Saturn's larger moons. Adjective Jovian Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 70 kPa Hydrogen ~86% Helium ~14% Methane 0. ... Adjective Saturnian Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 140 kPa Hydrogen >93% Helium >5% Methane 0. ...
The term Trojan asteroids normally refers only to Jupiter Trojans