Trojan Asteroid Found Sharing Earth's Orbit—A First

A tiny space rock that's partially tethered to Earthby a gravitational leash is our planet's first known Trojan asteroid, astronomers say.

Trojans are objects that exist in gravitationally stable regions in front of or behind another body, so that the two share the same orbit but never collide.

Trojan asteroids have been found around Jupiter, Neptune, and Mars, and Saturn is orbited by a few groups of Trojan moons. (See"'Dead Zone' Asteroid Found Following Neptune.")

Earth's newfound Trojan is about 1,000 feet (300 meters) wide and sits about 50 million miles (80 million kilometers) in front of Earth.

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Trojan Asteroid Found Sharing Earth's Orbit—A First