Do Jupiter Trojans Ever Collide with Other Objects in Their Orbit?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Master Wayne
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Jupiter
AI Thread Summary
Jupiter Trojans, the asteroids sharing Jupiter's orbit, are positioned at significant distances ahead and behind the planet, minimizing collision risks with Jupiter or its moons. However, gravitational interactions with Jupiter and Saturn can cause some Trojans to be ejected from their stable positions. If their trajectories change due to these interactions, collisions could become possible. The discussion highlights the importance of gravitational dynamics in the orbits of these asteroids. Overall, while collisions are unlikely under normal conditions, they cannot be entirely ruled out due to gravitational influences.
Master Wayne
Messages
26
Reaction score
3
Does anyone know if the Jupiter Trojans (the asteroids that share an orbit with Jupiter) ever collide with moons or Jupiter itself?
 
Astronomy news on Phys.org
the 2 sets of Trojans sharing Jupiter's orbit, one set leading Jupiter the other set lagging Jupiter.
Those positions are quite some distance ahead and behind Jupiter, and as long at the asteroids stayed in those positions there would be no possibility of impacts.
But because of gravitational interactions between Jupiter, Saturn and the asteroids, some asteroids can get ejected from those positions. Depending on trajectories, I guess, impacts could be possible

Dave
 
davenn said:
the 2 sets of Trojans sharing Jupiter's orbit, one set leading Jupiter the other set lagging Jupiter.
Those positions are quite some distance ahead and behind Jupiter, and as long at the asteroids stayed in those positions there would be no possibility of impacts.
But because of gravitational interactions between Jupiter, Saturn and the asteroids, some asteroids can get ejected from those positions. Depending on trajectories, I guess, impacts could be possible

Dave


Awesome. That's exactly what I wanted to know. Thank you very much.
 
You are welcome :)

cheers
Dave
 
An interesting simulation of the motion of the Trojans:
http://chemistry.unina.it/~alvitagl/solex/hiltro.gif
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Is a homemade radio telescope realistic? There seems to be a confluence of multiple technologies that makes the situation better than when I was a wee lad: software-defined radio (SDR), the easy availability of satellite dishes, surveillance drives, and fast CPUs. Let's take a step back - it is trivial to see the sun in radio. An old analog TV, a set of "rabbit ears" antenna, and you're good to go. Point the antenna at the sun (i.e. the ears are perpendicular to it) and there is...
This thread is dedicated to the beauty and awesomeness of our Universe. If you feel like it, please share video clips and photos (or nice animations) of space and objects in space in this thread. Your posts, clips and photos may by all means include scientific information; that does not make it less beautiful to me (n.b. the posts must of course comply with the PF guidelines, i.e. regarding science, only mainstream science is allowed, fringe/pseudoscience is not allowed). n.b. I start this...
Back
Top