(527604) 2007 VL305

(527604) 2007 VL₃₀₅, provisional designation 2007 VL₃₀₅, is an inclined Neptune trojan that shares Neptune's orbit in the L₄ Lagrangian 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]

(527604) 2007 VL₃₀₅

Discovery[1][2]
Discovered by	A. C. Becker A. W. Puckett J. Kubica
Discovery site	Apache Point Obs.
Discovery date	4 November 2007
Designations
MPC designation	(527604) 2007 VL305
Alternative designations	2007 VL305
Minor planet category	Neptune trojan · L4[3] centaur[1] · distant[2]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 4
Observation arc	5.19 yr (1,894 days)
Aphelion	31.729 AU
Perihelion	28.122 AU
Semi-major axis	29.926 AU
Eccentricity	0.0603
Orbital period (sidereal)	163.71 yr (59,795 days)
Mean anomaly	10.760°
Mean motion	0° 0m 21.6s / day
Inclination	28.155°
Longitude of ascending node	188.69°
Argument of perihelion	216.70°
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter	110 km (est. at 0.10)[4] 160 km[5]
Apparent magnitude	22.2[5]
Absolute magnitude (H)	7.9[1]

Orbit and classification

Neptune trojans can be considered resonant trans-Neptunian objects in a 1:1 mean-motion orbital resonance with Neptune. These trojans have a semi-major axis and an orbital period very similar to Neptune's (30.10 AU; 164.8 years).

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]

Physical characteristics

Diameter

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]

Numbering and naming

This minor planet was numbered by the Minor Planet Center on 18 May 2019 (M.P.C. 114650).^[7] As of 2025, 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]