2023 FW14 explained

Minorplanet:yes
Background:
  1. FA8072
Discoverer:Pan-STARRS 2
Discovered:18 March 2023
Discovery Site:Haleakala Observatory
Epoch:13 September 2023 (JD 2460200.5)
Aphelion:1.764696353abbr=onNaNabbr=on
Perihelion:1.2828435AU
Semimajor:1.523769939AU
Eccentricity:0.15811207
Period:1.88099354 yr (687.032891 d)
Inclination:13.272714°
Asc Node:21.84773°
Mean Anomaly:26.03608°
Arg Peri:245.29506°
Dimensions:~320 m
Albedo:0.047
Spectral Type:X
Abs Magnitude:21.6
Mean Motion: / day
Observation Arc:5503 days (15.07 yr)
Uncertainty:0
Moid:0.331663AU
Jupiter Moid:3.31104AU

is a small asteroid orbiting near the of Mars (60 degrees ahead of Mars on its orbit). As of March 2024, it is the second known asteroid to orbit the leading of Mars together with, although at least 15 other asteroids orbit Mars's trailing, including 5261 Eureka,, and . Not only does orbit on the other side of Mars from other similar asteroids, its spectrum is different as well, but close to that of .

Orbit

orbits around the of Mars in a somewhat stable orbit and it may be affected by the Yarkovsky effect. It is far less stable than . Its initial orbit was eventually improved when precovery images were found. Its current orbit is of the Amor type. Its orbital evolution into the past strongly suggests that it cannot be a primordial trojan like Eureka.

Physical characteristics

Its spectrum suggests that it is an X-type asteroid, which is different from 5261 Eureka and but compatible with that of, and this is somewhat puzzling since different mineral compositions suggest different origins for the two groups of asteroids. Asteroid might have been captured from the Mars-crossing near-Earth asteroid population; alternatively, it might be a fragment of produced in situ nearly 1 Myr ago.

See also