(527604) 2007 VL305, provisional designation 2007 VL305, is an inclined Neptune trojan that shares Neptune's orbit in the L4Lagrangian point. It was discovered on 4 November 2007, by astronomers Andrew Becker, Andrew Puckett and Jeremy Kubica at the Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico, United States, although images from 2005 have also been recovered.[2] It measures approximately 160 kilometers in diameter and was the sixth Neptune trojan to be discovered.[3] As of 2016[update], it is 34.1 AU from Neptune.[6]
2007 VL305 belongs to the leading L4 group, which orbits 60° ahead of Neptune's orbit. It orbits the Sun with a semi-major axis of 29.926 AU at a distance of 28.1–31.7 AU once every 163 years and 9 months (59,795 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.06 and an inclination of 28° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] Its inclination is almost as high as that of 2011 HM102.[3]
The discoverers estimate that 2007 VL305 has a mean diameter of 160 kilometers based on a magnitude of 22.2.[5] Based on a generic magnitude-to-diameter conversion, it measures approximately 110 kilometers in diameter using an absolute magnitude of 7.9 with an assumed albedo of 0.10.[4]
This minor planet was numbered by the Minor Planet Center on 18 May 2019 (M.P.C. 114650).[7] As of 2019, it has not been named.[2] If named, it will follow the naming scheme already established with 385571 Otrera and 385695 Clete, which is to name these objects after figures related to the Amazons, an all-female warrior tribe that fought in the Trojan War on the side of the Trojans against the Greek.[8]
