First Asteroid Discovered At Uranus's Leading Trojan Point

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First Asteroid Discovered At Uranus's Leading Trojan Point

Posted by Soulskill on Saturday August 31, 2013 @05:01AM from the set-course-for-the-tilted-planet dept.

LeadSongDog writes "Space.com is reporting on a 60km comet-like body in Lagrangian orbit around the Sun, locked to Uranus's leading Trojan Point. This means a distant, but fairly accessible supply of water-ice, hence: reaction mass, hydrogen and oxygen for robotic miners if we can just get them there with an energy source. 'The sun and Earth have two Trojan points, one leading ahead of Earth, known as the L-4 point of the system, and one trailing behind, its L-5 point. The sun and other planets have Lagrangian points also, with asteroids seen at those the sun shares with Jupiter, Neptune and Mars. Scientists thought the Trojan points of Uranus, the seventh planet from the sun, were too unstable to host asteroids."

9 of 90 comments (clear)

Baby, lead my trojan point in Uranus by Anonymous Coward · 2013-08-31 05:08 · Score: 1, Funny

pls
1. Re:Baby, lead my trojan point in Uranus by rudy_wayne · 2013-08-31 06:16 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Slashdot -- Celebrating 16 years of anus jokes
Oh Dear by Oysterville · 2013-08-31 05:08 · Score: 5, Funny

That headline caused the heads of many a troll to explode.
1. Re:Oh Dear by FatdogHaiku · 2013-08-31 06:31 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Warp speed, Mr Sulu.
  Yeah... THAT'S the guy you want maneuvering near Uranus...
  Oh My!
  
  --
  You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
Go to the Doctor... by Smivs · 2013-08-31 05:26 · Score: 4, Funny

...if Uranus has asteroids. He can give you some cream for it.

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Smivs on the intertubes!
1. Re:Go to the Doctor... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-08-31 06:11 · Score: 0, Funny
  
  Of course, it's only after having asteroids that you realize how Uranus benefits from a Trojan point.
To bad it wasn't the trailing Trojan Point by Anonymous Coward · 2013-08-31 05:43 · Score: 1, Funny

If so, they should name the asteroid hamster.
When will slashdot read the memo? by wbr1 · 2013-08-31 06:22 · Score: 1, Funny

Due to unending tasteless jokes, Uranus is now known as Urectum.
What the point of a trojan leading asteroids into Urectum is, I am not sure, but it sounds like...
"Dammit Jim, I'm a physician, not your proctologist."

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Silence is a state of mime.
Re:Well, it was a blast by Anonymous Coward · 2013-08-31 07:12 · Score: 2, Funny

Still downright refreshing compared to the usual libertarian politics and NSA paranoia.