'Trojans' and 'Greeks' along the orbit of Jupiter
'Trojans' and 'Greeks' along the orbit of Jupiter
Observations in recent years have shown that the 'Trojan asteroids' orbiting the Sun in the same orbit as Jupiter have uniform, very dark surfaces with a hint of a red tinge and comparatively dull surfaces that reflect little sunlight. The results are captured in this artist's impression, which shows both the asteroids ahead of Jupiter, the 'Greeks', and the asteroids trailing the giant planet in the 'Trojan camp'. The red colouring is reminiscent of nitrogenous compounds that have been detected on some bodies in the outer Solar System – tholins. Observations made as part of the WISE project also confirmed the earlier suggestion that there are more asteroids in the leading group of Trojans (visible in the distance) than in the trailing group.
