What is the name of the first discovered Jupiter Trojan asteroid?

The first discovered Jupiter Trojan asteroid was 588 Achilles. Max Wolf discovered it in 1906, and its orbit showed that asteroids could occupy a stable region near one of Jupiter’s gravitational balance points.

Jupiter Trojans travel around the Sun on paths associated with Jupiter, clustering near the planet’s leading and trailing Lagrange points. These regions, called the L4 and L5 points, lie about 60 degrees ahead of and behind Jupiter in its orbit. The combined gravitational effects of Jupiter and the Sun can keep objects there for long periods.

Achilles was named after the Greek hero of the Trojan War, beginning a naming tradition in which asteroids near Jupiter’s L4 point generally receive Greek names and those near L5 receive Trojan names. That convention explains why other choices, such as 624 Hektor and 911 Agamemnon, are also linked to the Trojan War. The number 588 identifies the asteroid’s position in the sequence of numbered minor planets, while Achilles is its name.