[meteorite-list] Earth Trojan asteroids

[MexicoDoug at aol.com]

Hola Rob,

Wouldn't that be <= 2/3's  (gibbous) phase = about 66% illumination, and a 
maximum average sky angle of a  comfortable,high 60 degrees max observed angle 
(+/- the "oscillation")  ...  checking they're equilateral triangles, though 
intuition might be  wrong?
Saludos, Doug

En un mensaje con fecha 06/23/2005 6:21:15 PM  Mexico Daylight Time, 
ROBERT.D.MATSON at saic.com escribe:
Certainly astronomers  have tried, but small objects at L4 and L5
would be hard to see due to a  combination of range (150 million
km), poorer phase angle, and a maximum sky  elevation of perhaps 45
degrees at astronomical twilight -- lower when the  sky is darker.
It would be an interesting exercise to compute the maximum  size
an Earth Trojan could be and still have managed to go  undetected.

--Rob