{ "id": "ep0edf3adc", "slug": "17314-aisakos", "title": "17314 Aisakos", "updated": "2026-10-25", "topic_path": [ { "id": "places", "label": "Places and geography", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/places" }, { "id": "places.extraterrestrial", "label": "Extraterrestrial places", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/places.extraterrestrial" }, { "id": "places.extraterrestrial.small-bodies", "label": "Small bodies of the Solar System", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/places.extraterrestrial.small-bodies" }, { "id": "places.extraterrestrial.small-bodies.asteroids-trojans-and-outer-groups", "label": "Jupiter Trojans and other dynamical groups", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/places.extraterrestrial.small-bodies.asteroids-trojans-and-outer-groups" }, { "id": "places.extraterrestrial.small-bodies.asteroids-trojans-and-outer-groups.trojan-camp-jupiter-trojans", "label": "Trojan-camp Jupiter Trojans", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/places.extraterrestrial.small-bodies.asteroids-trojans-and-outer-groups.trojan-camp-jupiter-trojans" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.nongeo.nodate.places.extraterrestrial.small-bodies.asteroids-trojans-and-outer-groups.trojan-camp-jupiter-trojans", "label": "Non-geographic · Not dated: Trojan-camp Jupiter Trojans", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.nongeo.nodate.places.extraterrestrial.small-bodies.asteroids-trojans-and-outer-groups.trojan-camp-jupiter-trojans", "path": [ { "id": "geo.nongeo", "label": "Non-geographic", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.nongeo" }, { "id": "geo.nongeo.nodate", "label": "Non-geographic · Not dated", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.nongeo.nodate" }, { "id": "geo.nongeo.nodate.places", "label": "Places and geography", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.nongeo.nodate.places" }, { "id": "geo.nongeo.nodate.places.extraterrestrial", "label": "Extraterrestrial places", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.nongeo.nodate.places.extraterrestrial" }, { "id": "geo.nongeo.nodate.places.extraterrestrial.small-bodies", "label": "Small bodies of the Solar System", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.nongeo.nodate.places.extraterrestrial.small-bodies" }, { "id": "geo.nongeo.nodate.places.extraterrestrial.small-bodies.asteroids-trojans-and-outer-groups", "label": "Jupiter Trojans and other dynamical groups", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.nongeo.nodate.places.extraterrestrial.small-bodies.asteroids-trojans-and-outer-groups" }, { "id": "geo.nongeo.nodate.places.extraterrestrial.small-bodies.asteroids-trojans-and-outer-groups.trojan-camp-jupiter-trojans", "label": "Trojan-camp Jupiter Trojans", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.nongeo.nodate.places.extraterrestrial.small-bodies.asteroids-trojans-and-outer-groups.trojan-camp-jupiter-trojans" } ] } ], "excerpt": "17314 Aisakos is a Jupiter Trojan asteroid that shares Jupiter's orbit around the L5 Lagrange point, discovered in 1971 at Palomar Observatory and named after Aesacus, Priam's son in Greek mythology.", "snippet": "17314 Aisakos is a Jupiter Trojan asteroid that shares Jupiter's orbit around the L5 Lagrange point, discovered in 1971 at Palomar Observatory and named after Aesacus, Priam's son in Greek mythology.", "node": "places.extraterrestrial.small-bodies.asteroids-trojans-and-outer-groups.trojan-camp-jupiter-trojans", "markdown": "# 17314 Aisakos\n\n**17314 Aisakos** (provisional designation **1024 T-1**) is a Jupiter Trojan asteroid, a minor planet that shares Jupiter's orbit with the Sun while librating (oscillating around an equilibrium point, not fixed) around the L5 Lagrange point, about 60 degrees behind the planet. It was discovered on 25 March 1971 by the astronomers C. J. van Houten, I. van Houten-G., and T. Gehrels at [Palomar Observatory](https://www.edgepedia.org/palomar-observatory), and it is named after Aesacus ([Ancient Greek](https://www.edgepedia.org/ancient-greek): Αἴσακος), a prince of Troy in [Greek mythology](https://www.edgepedia.org/greek-mythology).[1](https://clever-geek.imtqy.com/articles/5331775/index.html) • [2](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Aesacus)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Discovery | 25 March 1971, by C. J. van Houten, I. van Houten-G., and T. Gehrels at Palomar Observatory[9](https://asteroidname.com/asteroid/aisakos) |\n| Dynamical class | Jupiter Trojan at the L5 point, roughly 60 degrees behind Jupiter along its orbit[1](https://clever-geek.imtqy.com/articles/5331775/index.html) |\n| Absolute magnitude | 10.9; a Russian-derived compilation gives 10.8[1](https://clever-geek.imtqy.com/articles/5331775/index.html) |\n| Orbital inclination | 10.72422 degrees to the ecliptic[1](https://clever-geek.imtqy.com/articles/5331775/index.html) |\n\n## Discovery and designations\n\nThe asteroid was found on 25 March 1971 at Palomar Observatory by the husband-and-wife team Cornelis Johannes van Houten and Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld together with Tom Gehrels, and it received the provisional designation 1024 T-1.[9](https://asteroidname.com/asteroid/aisakos) Before it was numbered it also carried the alternate designations 1977 RS9 and 1989 RH3, recorded when the object was observed in later years and its orbit was refined.[10](https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=17314)\n\nThe name Aisakos appears in Lutz D. Schmadel's *Dictionary of Minor Planet Names*, which notes that the Trojan planets are named for Greek and Trojan heroes of the [Trojan War](https://www.edgepedia.org/trojan-war).[3](https://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/32939/1/Lutz%20D.%20Schmadel.pdf)\n\n## Orbit and dynamical position\n\n[Jupiter Trojans](https://www.edgepedia.org/jupiter-trojans) are bodies in a 1:1 orbital resonance with Jupiter, librating around the two triangular equilibrium points of the Sun–Jupiter system, the Lagrangian points L4 and L5. The population around L4, located 60 degrees ahead of Jupiter along its orbit, is called the \"Greek camp\"; the population around L5, about 60 degrees behind Jupiter, is the \"Trojan camp\".[4](https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201833713) Aisakos belongs to the trailing L5 group.[1](https://clever-geek.imtqy.com/articles/5331775/index.html)\n\nThe compiled orbital data for Aisakos give an inclination of 10.72422 degrees, a longitude of the ascending node of 353.79261 degrees, an argument of perihelion of 84.98446 degrees, and a mean anomaly of 341.00495 degrees.[1](https://clever-geek.imtqy.com/articles/5331775/index.html) Long-term simulations of the [Trojan](https://www.edgepedia.org/trojan-celestial-body) swarms show that individual orbits are not indefinitely stable, because gravitational interactions between Jupiter and Saturn cause the population to disperse slowly, with some members escaping on time scales of millions of years.[4](https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201833713) • [5](https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/495/4/4085/5837576)\n\nThe two Trojan swarms are also unequal in size. Once selection effects were taken into account, studies of the known population found a leading-to-trailing number ratio of about 1.6, and as discoveries passed 10,000 objects the ratio had risen to about 1.8, so the L4 swarm remains the more populated of the two.[6](https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2023/01/aa44443-22/aa44443-22.html)\n\n## Physical properties\n\nA Russian-derived compilation reports a broader diameter range of 18 to 41 kilometers and an absolute magnitude of 10.8.[1](https://clever-geek.imtqy.com/articles/5331775/index.html) Such dark, low-albedo surfaces are characteristic of the Trojan population, whose members are thought to be primitive bodies left over from the formation of the giant planets.[4](https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201833713)\n\n## The name\n\nAesacus was a son of King Priam of Troy. In the mythological tradition he possessed the art of dream interpretation, and he was called on to explain the dream of Queen Hecuba before the birth of Paris, in which she seemed to give birth to a burning torch that reduced Troy to ruins; he told her the child would bring disaster on his homeland.[7](https://www.greek-language.gr/digitalResources/ancient_greek/mythology/lexicon/mantises/page_002.html) In Ovid's *Metamorphoses* he loved the nymph Hesperia, who died from the bite of a venomous snake while fleeing him, and in his grief he threw himself from a cliff into the sea, where the sea goddess [Tethys](https://www.edgepedia.org/tethys-mythology) transformed him into a diving seabird.[2](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Aesacus) • [7](https://www.greek-language.gr/digitalResources/ancient_greek/mythology/lexicon/mantises/page_002.html) The name is a Latinized form of the Greek Αἴσακος, probably meaning \"branch of myrtle\".[8](https://www.behindthename.com/name/aesacus/submitted)\n\nThe naming fits the asteroid's dynamical camp. Because Aisakos orbits at L5, the swarm called the Trojan camp, the asteroid carries the name of a figure from the Trojan side of the war, in keeping with the convention that the Trojan planets are named for heroes of the Trojan War.[1](https://clever-geek.imtqy.com/articles/5331775/index.html) • [3](https://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/32939/1/Lutz%20D.%20Schmadel.pdf) • [4](https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201833713)\n\n## References\n\n1. [(17314) Esak (Aisakos), compiled asteroid data article](https://clever-geek.imtqy.com/articles/5331775/index.html)\n2. [Aesacus, Wiktionary](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Aesacus)\n3. [Lutz D. Schmadel, Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, 5th edition (Springer, 2003)](https://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/32939/1/Lutz%20D.%20Schmadel.pdf)\n4. [Consequences of planetary migration on the minor bodies of the early solar system, Astronomy & Astrophysics](https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201833713)\n5. [Stability of Jovian Trojans and their collisional families, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society](https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/495/4/4085/5837576)\n6. [Asymmetry in the number of L4 and L5 Jupiter Trojans driven by jumping Jupiter, Astronomy & Astrophysics](https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2023/01/aa44443-22/aa44443-22.html)\n7. [ΑΙΣΑΚΟΣ, Forms and Themes of Ancient Greek Mythology, Center for the Greek Language](https://www.greek-language.gr/digitalResources/ancient_greek/mythology/lexicon/mantises/page_002.html)\n8. [Aesacus, Behind the Name](https://www.behindthename.com/name/aesacus/submitted)\n9. [(17314) Aisakos – asteroid discovered 1971 | AsteroidName](https://asteroidname.com/asteroid/aisakos)\n10. [IAU Minor Planet Center, minorplanetcenter.net](https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=17314)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Places and geography › Extraterrestrial places › Small bodies of the Solar System › Jupiter Trojans and other dynamical groups › Trojan-camp Jupiter Trojans*\n\n*Initially written Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/17314-aisakos", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/17314-aisakos.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"17314 Aisakos\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/17314-aisakos. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[17314 Aisakos](https://www.edgepedia.org/17314-aisakos)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/17314-aisakos](https://www.edgepedia.org/17314-aisakos). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"17314 Aisakos\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/17314-aisakos. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "17314 Aisakos is a Jupiter Trojan asteroid that shares Jupiter's orbit around the L5 Lagrange point, discovered in 1971 at Palomar Observatory and named after Aesacus, Priam's son in Greek mythology." }