524522 Zoozve

Basic Information

A small asteroid, less than a kilometer in size, in a temporary orbit in the neighborhood of Venus. It is classified as a quasi-satellite because of it's unusual orbital configuration. It orbits the sun, but it has the same orbital period as Venus so that it appears to be orbiting that planet as well. It's freaky.

The existence of quasi-satellites were theorized in 1913, but none were identified until nearly 90 years later. Zoozve was the first, discovered in 2002 and identified as a quasi-satellite two years later in 2004. It was originally named 2002 VE, but this was misread by an artist creating a map of the Solar System as "Zoozve", and the astronomer who discoverer it proposed that as its official name

Sources

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia article: 524522 Zoozve

2. Radiolab podcast about Zoozve

3. Daily Kos article: Top Comments Zoozve Edition; contains illustrations

Game and Story Use

• Because of its proximity to Venus, Zoozve might make a convenient spot to place instruments monitoring Venus and Mercury.
• In a space opera, your group finds an old space pirate who was marooned on Zoozve