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Achilles (minor planet 588)
The first of the Trojan asteroids to be found, in 1906 by Max Wolf. Its discovery, at Jupiter's fourth Lagrangian point (L4), preceding the planet in its orbit, confirmed Joseph-Louis Lagrange's theory that two-body systems have points where a third object of negligible mass can reside in stable equilibrium.
| diameter | 116 km |
| spectral class | C |
| semimajor axis | 5.175 AU |
| perihelion | 4.40 AU |
| aphelion | 5.95 AU |
| inclination | 10.3° |
| period | 11.77 years |
Related entry
• Achilles, in legend (Encyclopedia of History)Related category
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