# 4833 Meges

**4833 Meges** (provisional designations 1989 AL₂ and 1975 XN₅) is a D-type asteroid and one of the 40 largest [Jupiter Trojans](https://www.edgepedia.org/jupiter-trojans), discovered on 8 January 1989 by Carolyn Shoemaker at [Palomar Observatory](https://www.edgepedia.org/palomar-observatory).<sup>[1](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311584546_LIGHTCURVES_OF_JOVIAN_TROJAN_ASTEROIDS_FROM_THE_CENTER_FOR_SOLAR_SYSTEM_STUDIES_L4_GREEK_CAMP_AND_SPIES)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[7](https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=4833)</sup> It rotates once every 14.25 hours, with a 2016 measurement of 14.266 hours in good agreement.<sup>[1](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311584546_LIGHTCURVES_OF_JOVIAN_TROJAN_ASTEROIDS_FROM_THE_CENTER_FOR_SOLAR_SYSTEM_STUDIES_L4_GREEK_CAMP_AND_SPIES)</sup> Estimates of its diameter range from about 80 km in survey listings to 84.2 km from a 2019 occultation and 87.52 km from an assumed albedo of 0.0635 at an absolute magnitude of 8.9.<sup>[3](https://www.occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/191026_4833_61874_u.htm)</sup> Photometric studies have found that its surface color varies with rotation, one of the most convincing such cases known among large Trojans, likely indicating a large surface feature such as a relatively recent crater.<sup>[2](https://aas.org/sites/default/files/2019-11/dps_49_abstracts_print_render_2017-10-16.pdf)</sup>

| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Discovery | 8 January 1989 by Carolyn Shoemaker at Palomar Observatory; provisional designations 1989 AL₂ and 1975 XN₅<sup>[7](https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=4833)</sup> |
| Size | About 80 km from survey listings; 84.2 km from a 2019 occultation; 87.52 km derived from an assumed albedo of 0.0635 at absolute magnitude 8.9<sup>[3](https://www.occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/191026_4833_61874_u.htm)</sup> |
| Rotation | 14.25 h (Mottola et al., 1995 data); 14.266 h from 2016 observations, in good agreement<sup>[1](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311584546_LIGHTCURVES_OF_JOVIAN_TROJAN_ASTEROIDS_FROM_THE_CENTER_FOR_SOLAR_SYSTEM_STUDIES_L4_GREEK_CAMP_AND_SPIES)</sup> |
| Orbit | Semimajor axis 5.2367 AU, eccentricity 0.0932, inclination 34.73°<sup>[3](https://www.occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/191026_4833_61874_u.htm)</sup> |
| Surface color | Significant color variation with rotation in Johnson-Cousins V and I filters, among the most convincing examples found on a dozen large Trojans<sup>[2](https://aas.org/sites/default/files/2019-11/dps_49_abstracts_print_render_2017-10-16.pdf)</sup> |

## Discovery and orbit

Meges was discovered on 8 January 1989 by Carolyn Shoemaker at Palomar Observatory, and had been previously observed as 1975 XN₅ before receiving the provisional designation 1989 AL₂.<sup>[7](https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=4833)</sup>

Jupiter Trojans are bodies trapped in a 1:1 mean-motion resonance with Jupiter at the L4 and L5 Lagrangian points, and their orbits are stable over the lifetime of the [Solar System](https://www.edgepedia.org/solar-system).<sup>[4](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11214-024-01052-7)</sup> For Meges specifically, a stellar occultation prediction computed in 2019 lists a semimajor axis of 5.23671805 AU, an eccentricity of 0.09322645, and an inclination of 34.72948541 degrees.<sup>[3](https://www.occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/191026_4833_61874_u.htm)</sup> That inclination is near the upper end of the Trojan population's range, which extends from 0° to 35° with a median of 10°.<sup>[5](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11214-023-01031-4)</sup>

## Rotation and lightcurves

The first published rotation period came from observations made over four nights in August 1995, which yielded a reliable period of 14.25 hours.<sup>[6](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/231138383_Rotational_Properties_of_Jupiter_Trojans_I_Light_Curves_of_80_Objects)</sup> [Robert Stephens](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-stephens) and Daniel Coley observed Meges at the Center for Solar System Studies in 2016 and 2017, deriving a period of 14.266 hours, in good agreement with the 1995 result.<sup>[1](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311584546_LIGHTCURVES_OF_JOVIAN_TROJAN_ASTEROIDS_FROM_THE_CENTER_FOR_SOLAR_SYSTEM_STUDIES_L4_GREEK_CAMP_AND_SPIES)</sup>

**Color variation with rotation.** Joseph Chatelain of Northern Arizona University, David E. Trilling, and Joshua P. Emery of the [University of Tennessee](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-tennessee) collected partial, simultaneous lightcurves in Johnson-Cousins V and I filters for a dozen large Jupiter Trojans. They found significant signs of color variation over the surfaces of four of these objects and more subtle signs on four others, with the most convincing examples occurring on (4709) Ennomos and (4833) Meges.<sup>[2](https://aas.org/sites/default/files/2019-11/dps_49_abstracts_print_render_2017-10-16.pdf)</sup> Such a variation in color with rotation likely implies a large surface feature such as a recent crater. The authors noted that the high fraction of observed Trojans displaying these signatures could imply a more active collisional history for Jupiter Trojans than previously thought, and that one or more targets of NASA's Lucy mission may therefore have experienced a large, relatively recent cratering event.<sup>[2](https://aas.org/sites/default/files/2019-11/dps_49_abstracts_print_render_2017-10-16.pdf)</sup>

## Size and physical character

Estimates of Meges's diameter differ with the method used. Survey listings give about 80 km, a 2019 occultation prediction based on 1,609 observations spanning 1975 to 2019 gives an approximate diameter of 84.2 km,<sup>[3](https://www.occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/191026_4833_61874_u.htm)</sup> and the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives 87.52 km from an assumed albedo of 0.0635 at the object's absolute magnitude of 8.9.

## Naming

The asteroid is named after Meges from [Greek mythology](https://www.edgepedia.org/greek-mythology), a commander of the Greek forces from Dulichium and Echinae who led 40 ships to the [Trojan War](https://www.edgepedia.org/trojan-war). Together with Thoas, after whom the neighboring Trojan asteroid 4834 Thoas is named, Meges persuaded Achilles to rejoin the Trojan War, and Meges was one of the men who entered the wooden [Trojan Horse](https://www.edgepedia.org/trojan-horse).

## Context: what Trojans tell us

Jupiter Trojans are believed to have originated over a range of heliocentric distances in the trans-Neptunian region, to have been scattered inward, and to have been captured into their current resonance during giant planet migration.<sup>[4](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11214-024-01052-7)</sup> Because of their dynamical isolation they are relatively unprocessed samples from their formation regions, and their study helps constrain models of the origin and evolution of the Solar System.<sup>[4](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11214-024-01052-7)</sup> Ground-based results such as the surface color variation detected on Meges feed directly into this program: the [Lucy](https://www.edgepedia.org/lucy-spacecraft) mission, which will visit several Trojans in both clouds, is expected to combine its close-up ground truth with the context provided by Earth-based observations.<sup>[4](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11214-024-01052-7)</sup>

## References

1. [Lightcurves of Jovian Trojan Asteroids from the Center for Solar System Studies: L4 Greek Camp and Spies, Minor Planet Bulletin 43 (2016)](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311584546_LIGHTCURVES_OF_JOVIAN_TROJAN_ASTEROIDS_FROM_THE_CENTER_FOR_SOLAR_SYSTEM_STUDIES_L4_GREEK_CAMP_AND_SPIES)
2. [Chatelain, Trilling & Emery, DPS 49 abstract: simultaneous V and I lightcurves of large Jupiter Trojans](https://aas.org/sites/default/files/2019-11/dps_49_abstracts_print_render_2017-10-16.pdf)
3. [RASNZ Occultation Section: Meges occultation update, 26 October 2019](https://www.occultations.org.nz/planet/2019/updates/191026_4833_61874_u.htm)
4. [Mottola et al., Shapes, Rotations, Photometric and Internal Properties of Jupiter Trojans, Space Science Reviews (2024)](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11214-024-01052-7)
5. [Bottke et al., Origin and Evolution of Jupiter's Trojan Asteroids, Space Science Reviews (2023)](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11214-023-01031-4)
6. [Rotational Properties of Jupiter Trojans. I. Light Curves of 80 Objects](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/231138383_Rotational_Properties_of_Jupiter_Trojans_I_Light_Curves_of_80_Objects)
7. [(4833) Meges, IAU Minor Planet Center](https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=4833)

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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Places and geography › Extraterrestrial places › Small bodies of the Solar System › Jupiter Trojans and other dynamical groups › Greek-camp Jupiter Trojans › Leaders of the Achaean forces*

*Initially written Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 25, 2026*

*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*

License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license