Queen’s Belfast team discovers elusive Neptune Trojan asteroids

Key facts

• Queen’s University Belfast-led researchers discovered two confirmed and one candidate Neptune Trojan asteroids in the trailing L5 region using early data from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s Science Validation survey.
• Neptune’s trailing L5 Trojan population was previously obscured by the Milky Way’s dense stellar field, making observations difficult until 2025 when the cloud moved out of the galactic plane.
• The Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s LSST Camera, with a 3.2-gigapixel resolution and 9.6-square-degree field of view, is designed to detect faint and distant solar system objects, including Neptune Trojans.
• Neptune Trojans may have been captured during planetary migration rather than forming in situ, as suggested by their high-inclination orbits and dynamical stability.