Coorbiting

Coorbiting describes the phenomenon where two or more celestial bodies share the same orbital path around a common center of mass. This arrangement is not a collision course, but rather a stable dynamic where the objects maintain a consistent relative position or pattern of movement. The most well-known examples are Trojan asteroids, which share an orbit with a larger planet. These objects are found in the Lagrange points of the planet's orbit, specifically the L4 and L5 points, which are points of gravitational equilibrium.

For a coorbiting configuration to be stable, the masses of the objects and their orbital parameters must be carefully balanced. The gravitational influence of the central body is crucial in maintaining this shared orbit. While coorbiting is most commonly observed with asteroids and planets, it is also theorized to occur with moons and even in binary star systems. The dynamics can be complex, involving gravitational tugs and nudges between the coorbiting bodies and the central mass. Studying coorbiting objects provides valuable insights into the formation and evolution of planetary systems and the distribution of mass within them. Their stable, shared orbits suggest a long history of gravitational interaction and a delicate equilibrium.