![]() Hubble Space Telescope image of 2002 AW197 taken in 2006 | |
Discovery [1] [2] | |
---|---|
Discovered by | Palomar Obs. (team) |
Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
Discovery date | 10 January 2002 |
Designations | |
2002 AW197 | |
TNO [3] · cubewano [4] p-DP [5] · extended [6] distant [1] | |
Orbital characteristics [3] | |
Epoch 31 May 2020 (JD 2459000.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 3 | |
Observation arc | 21.23 yr (7,756 d) |
Earliest precovery date | 29 December 1997 |
Aphelion | 53.161 AU |
Perihelion | 40.922 AU |
47.042 AU | |
Eccentricity | 0.13009 |
322.65 yr (117,848 d) | |
294.532° | |
0° 0m 10.998s / day | |
Inclination | 24.451° |
297.606° | |
≈ 5 May 2078 [7] ±4 days | |
297.494° | |
Physical characteristics | |
Mean diameter | 768±39 km [8] 734±116 km [9] 700±50 km [10] [11] 886 km [12] |
8.87±0.01 h [13] 8.78±0.05 h [14] 8.86±0.01 h [15] | |
0.112+0.012 −0.011 [8] | |
IR [16] [17] ·(moderately red) B–V = 0.920±0.020 [18] V–R = 0.560±0.020 [18] V–I = 1.170±0.010 [17] | |
20.0 (opposition) [19] [20] | |
3.568±0.046(V) [21] 3.156±0.059(R) [22] 3.3 (assumed) [3] | |
(55565) 2002 AW197 (provisional designation 2002 AW197) is a classical, non-resonant trans-Neptunian object from the Kuiper belt in the outermost region of the Solar System, also known as a cubewano. With a likely diameter of at least 700 kilometers (430 miles), it is approximately tied with 2002 MS4 and 2013 FY27 (to within measurement uncertainties) as the largest unnamed object in the Solar System. It was discovered at Palomar Observatory in 2002.
Its rotation period is 8.8 hours and it is a moderately red color. [16] Tancredi notes that photometric observations suggest that it is a spheroid with a high albedo and small albedo spots. [23] However, its low albedo suggests it does not have planetary geology, as it should if it were a dwarf planet.
2002 AW197 was discovered on 10 January 2002, by astronomers at the Palomar Observatory in California. [1] Astronomers involved in the discovery were Michael Brown, Chad Trujillo, Eleanor Helin, Michael Hicks, Kenneth Lawrence and Steven H. Pravdo. [2] It is located near the Kuiper cliff.
2002 AW197 orbits the Sun at a distance of 40.9–53.2 AU once every 322.6 years (over 117,800 days; semi-major axis of 47 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.13 and an inclination of 24° with respect to the ecliptic. [3] The body's observation arc begins with a precovery taken at Haleakala-NEAT/GEODSS ( 566 ) in December 1997, more than 4 years prior to its official discovery observation at Palomar. [1] At 45.4 AU from the Sun, [19] it continues to slowly approach the Sun until its perihelion passage at 41.1 AU in May 2078. [7]
Combined observations of thermal emissions by the Herschel Space Observatory and Spitzer Space Telescope give a diameter of 768+39
−38 km and a geometric albedo of 0.112+0.012
−0.011. [8]
ESO analysis of spectra reveals a strong red slope and no presence of water ice [24] (in contrast to Quaoar, also red) suggesting organic material (see comparison of colours and typical composition inferred from spectra of the TNOs).
28978 Ixion (, provisional designation 2001 KX76) is a large trans-Neptunian object and a possible dwarf planet. It is located in the Kuiper belt, a region of icy objects orbiting beyond Neptune in the outer Solar System. Ixion is classified as a plutino, a dynamical class of objects in a 2:3 orbital resonance with Neptune. It was discovered in May 2001 by astronomers of the Deep Ecliptic Survey at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, and was announced in July 2001. The object is named after the Greek mythological figure Ixion, who was a king of the Lapiths.
8405 Asbolus is a centaur orbiting in the outer Solar System between the orbits of Jupiter and Neptune. It was discovered on 5 April 1995, by James Scotti and Robert Jedicke of Spacewatch (credited) at Kitt Peak Observatory in Arizona, United States. It is named after Asbolus, a centaur in Greek mythology and measures approximately 80 kilometers in diameter.
(15874) 1996 TL66 (provisional designation 1996 TL66) is a trans-Neptunian object of the scattered disc orbiting in the outermost region of the Solar System.
(55637) 2002 UX25 (provisional designation 2002 UX25) is a trans-Neptunian object that orbits the Sun in the Kuiper belt beyond Neptune. It briefly garnered scientific attention when it was found to have an unexpectedly low density of about 0.82 g/cm3.
(84522) 2002 TC302 (provisional designation 2002 TC302) is a mid-sized trans-Neptunian object located in the outermost region of the Solar System. It was discovered on 9 October 2002, by American astronomers Mike Brown, Chad Trujillo and David Rabinowitz at the Palomar Observatory in California. The resonant trans-Neptunian object stays in a 2:5 resonance with Neptune. It has a reddish color, a rotation period of 56.1 hours and measures at least 500 kilometers (310 miles) in diameter.
7066 Nessus is a very red centaur on an eccentric orbit, located beyond Saturn in the outer Solar System. It was discovered on 26 April 1993, by astronomers of the Spacewatch program at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Tucson, Arizona. The dark and reddish minor planet is likely elongated and measures approximately 60 kilometers in diameter. It was named after Nessus from Greek mythology.
10370 Hylonome (; prov. designation: 1995 DW2) is a minor planet orbiting in the outer Solar System. The dark and icy body belongs to the class of centaurs and measures approximately 72 kilometers (45 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 27 February 1995, by English astronomer David C. Jewitt and Vietnamese American astronomer Jane Luu at the U.S. Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawaii, and later named after the mythological creature Hylonome.
(55636) 2002 TX300 is a bright Kuiper belt object in the outer Solar System estimated to be about 286 kilometres (178 mi) in diameter. It is a large member of the Haumea family that was discovered on 15 October 2002 by the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) program.
(208996) 2003 AZ84 (provisional designation 2003 AZ84) is a trans-Neptunian object with a possible moon located in the outer regions of the Solar System. It is approximately 940 kilometers across its longest axis, as it has an elongated shape. It belongs to the plutinos – a group of minor planets named after its largest member Pluto – as it orbits in a 2:3 resonance with Neptune in the Kuiper belt. It is the third-largest known plutino, after Pluto and Orcus. It was discovered on 13 January 2003, by American astronomers Chad Trujillo and Michael Brown during the NEAT survey using the Samuel Oschin telescope at Palomar Observatory.
174567 Varda (provisional designation 2003 MW12) is a binary trans-Neptunian planetoid of the resonant hot classical population of the Kuiper belt, located in the outermost region of the Solar System. Its moon, Ilmarë, was discovered in 2009.
(84922) 2003 VS2 is a trans-Neptunian object discovered by the Near Earth Asteroid Tracking program on 14 November 2003. Like Pluto, it is in a 2:3 orbital resonance with Neptune and is thus a plutino. Analysis of light-curve suggests that it is not a dwarf planet.
(15875) 1996 TP66 (provisional designation 1996 TP66) is a resonant trans-Neptunian object of the plutino population, located in the outermost region of the Solar System, approximately 154 kilometers (96 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 11 October 1996, by astronomers Jane Luu, David C. Jewitt and Chad Trujillo at the Mauna Kea Observatories, Hawaii, in the United States. The very reddish RR-type with a highly eccentric orbit has been near its perihelion around the time of its discovery. This minor planet was numbered in 2000 and has since not been named. It is probably not a dwarf planet candidate.
(24835) 1995 SM55 (provisional designation 1995 SM55) is a trans-Neptunian object and member of the Haumea family that resides in the Kuiper belt, located in the outermost region of the Solar System. It was discovered on 19 September 1995, by American astronomer Nichole Danzl of the Spacewatch program at Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Arizona, in the United States. It measures approximately 200 kilometers in diameter and was the second-brightest known object in the Kuiper belt, after Pluto, until 1996 TO66 was discovered.
(35671) 1998 SN165 (provisional designation 1998 SN165) is a trans-Neptunian object from the Kuiper belt located in the outermost region of the Solar System. It was discovered on 23 September 1998, by American astronomer Arianna Gleason at the Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Arizona. The cold classical Kuiper belt object is a dwarf planet candidate, as it measures approximately 400 kilometers (250 miles) in diameter. It has a grey-blue color (BB) and a rotation period of 8.8 hours. As of 2021, it has not been named.
(40314) 1999 KR16 is a trans-Neptunian object on an eccentric orbit in the outermost region of the Solar System, approximately 254 kilometers (158 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 16 May 1999, by French astronomer Audrey Delsanti and Oliver Hainaut at ESO's La Silla Observatory in northern Chile. The very reddish object is a dwarf planet candidate and has a rotation period of 11.7 hours.
83982 Crantor (provisional designation 2002 GO9) is a centaur in a 1:1 resonance with Uranus, approximately 60 kilometers (37 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 12 April 2002, by astronomers of the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking at the Palomar Observatory in California, United States. This minor planet was named for Crantor from Greek mythology.
32532 Thereus, provisional designation: 2001 PT13, is a centaur from the outer Solar System, approximately 80 kilometers (50 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 9 August 2001, by astronomers of the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking program at the Palomar Observatory in California, United States. This minor planet was named for the phrase thēreios bia 'beastly strength', used to describe centaurs in Greek mythology.
(55638) 2002 VE95 (provisional designation 2002 VE95) is a trans-Neptunian object from the outermost region of the Solar System. It was discovered on 14 November 2002, by astronomers with the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking program at the Palomar Observatory in California, United States. This resonant trans-Neptunian object is a member of the plutino population, locked in a 2:3 resonance with Neptune. The object is likely of primordial origin with a heterogeneous surface and a notably reddish color (RR) attributed to the presence of methanol and tholins. It has a poorly defined rotation period of 6.8 hours and measures approximately 250 kilometers (160 miles) in diameter, too small to be a dwarf planet candidate. As of 2021, it has not yet been named.
(144897) 2004 UX10 (provisional designation 2004 UX10) is a Kuiper-belt object. It has a diameter of about 360 kilometres (220 mi) and was discovered by Andrew Becker, Andrew Puckett and Jeremy Kubica on 20 October 2004 at Apache Point Observatory in Sunspot, New Mexico. The object is classified as a cubewano. It is near a 2:3 resonance with Neptune.
(82158) 2001 FP185 (provisional designation 2001 FP185) is a highly eccentric trans-Neptunian object from the scattered disc in the outermost part of the Solar System, approximately 330 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 26 March 2001, by American astronomer Marc Buie at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, United States.