2019 VL5

2019 VL₅ is a tiny asteroid, classified as a near-Earth object of the Aten group moving in a 1:1 mean-motion resonance with Earth. Because of that, it is in a co-orbital configuration relative to Earth. 2019 VL₅ is currently in a horseshoe orbit: relative to the Sun and Earth, it moves back and forth in a horseshoe shape around Earth's orbit, with Earth in the gap of the horseshoe. According to orbital calculations, the asteroid was an Earth co-orbital for at least 500 years and will stay one for at least another 2,500 years. During this time, it will remain in this horseshoe orbit for at least 800 years, then it will transfer to a quasi-satellite orbit, then back to a horseshoe orbit after a few decades.^[2]

2019 VL₅

Discovery
Discovered by	LINEAR
Discovery date	9 November 2019
Designations
Minor planet category	NEO Aten[1]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 17 October 2024 (JD 2460600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	1827 days (5.00 years)
Aphelion	1.277788 AU (191.1544 Gm)
Perihelion	0.720270 AU (107.7509 Gm)
Semi-major axis	0.999029 AU (149.4526 Gm)
Eccentricity	0.279030
Orbital period (sidereal)	0.9986 yr (364.72 d)
Mean anomaly	260.08477°
Mean motion	0.98705°/day
Inclination	1.73671°
Longitude of ascending node	279.28599°
Argument of perihelion	237.69006°
Earth MOID	0.00700361 AU (1,047,725 km)
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter	30 m
Absolute magnitude (H)	25.86[1]

China planned to launch an asteroid deflection probe targeting 2019 VL₅ in 2025,^[3] but later changed the target to 2015 XF261.^[4]