Discovery [1] [2] [3] | |
---|---|
Discovered by | Mt. Lemmon Survey |
Discovery date | 20 January 2013 |
Designations | |
2013 BL76 | |
Orbital characteristics [1] | |
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 1 | |
Observation arc | 1.88 yr (687 days) |
Aphelion |
|
Perihelion | 8.3622 AU |
| |
Eccentricity | 0.9923 |
| |
0.0493° | |
0° 0m 0s / day | |
Inclination | 98.613° |
180.20° | |
165.96° | |
Physical characteristics | |
Dimensions | |
22.1 [7] | |
10.8 [1] [5] | |
(709487) 2013 BL76 is a trans-Neptunian object and centaur [4] from the scattered disk and Inner Oort cloud approximately 30 kilometers in diameter.
Using an epoch of February 2017, it is the minor planet with the 5th largest heliocentric semi-major axis in the Solar System (larger ones include 2014 FE72 , 2012 DR30 , and 2005 VX3 ). [8] 2013 BL76 has a barycentric semi-major axis of ~964 AU, [9] [lower-alpha 1] which is the third largest barycentric semi-major axis of any minor planet.
With an absolute magnitude (H) of 10.8 [5] and an unknown albedo, the object has an estimated diameter of 15–40 km. [6] Since it has not been seen out-gassing, it is not known if it is a comet or not. It might also be a damocloid, a type of minor planet that was originally a comet but lost most of its near-surface volatile materials after numerous orbits around the Sun. It also might be a dormant comet that simply has not been seen outgassing.
2013 BL76 came to perihelion 8.3 AU from the Sun on 27 October 2012, when it reached an apparent magnitude of about 20. [2] In 1927, when it was 100 AU from the Sun, it had an apparent magnitude of about 30.8. [11] For comparison dwarf planet 90377 Sedna had an apparent magnitude of 21.7 when it was 100 AU from the Sun. [12] It comes to opposition at the start of September.
It will not be 50 AU from the Sun until 2045. After leaving the planetary region of the Solar System, 2013 BL76 will have a barycentric aphelion of 1920 AU with an orbital period of 29900 years. [lower-alpha 1]
The orbit of 2013 BL76 currently comes closer to Saturn than any of the other giant planets. [5] In a 10 million year integration of the orbit, the nominal (best-fit) orbit acquires a perihelion point of 0.5 AU (inside the orbit of Venus), and one of the 3-sigma clones acquires a perihelion point of only 0.008 AU (1,200,000 km ). [4]
2013 BL76 travels in a technically retrograde orbit around the Sun. It is actually orbiting in a plane nearly perpendicular to that of the ecliptic. It has the 55th highest inclination of any known asteroid, after 2010 GW147 and before 2014 HS150.
Epoch | Barycentric Aphelion (Q) (AU) | Orbital period yr |
---|---|---|
1950 | 1849 | 28300 |
2050 | 1920 | 29900 |
Similar bodies | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Minor planet desig. | Semi- major axis | Semi- major axis ( bary ) | Perihelion | Aphelion | Aphelion (bary) | Abs. mag. (H) | Diameter (km) | Orb. uncert. (0–9) [lower-alpha 2] | No. obs. (arc days) |
2002 GB32 | 213 | 206.7 | 35.3420 | 390 | 378 |
| 120 | 3 | 26 (4733) |
(82158) 2001 FP185 | 220 | 216 | 34.2340 | 406 | 398 | 6.0 | 265 | 3 | 50 (2461) |
2012 KA51 | 224 | 190 | 4.9 | 444 | 380 | 11.1 | 15 | 9 | 12 (6) |
(148209) 2000 CR105 | 229.8 | 222.2 | 44.2000 | 415.5 | 400.4 | 6.3 | 320 | 3 | 54 (3242) |
(468861) 2013 LU28 | 230 | 230 | 8.698 | 460 | 451.5 | 7.9 | 115 | 5 | 56 (385) |
2006 UL321 | 261 | 257 | 23.5 | 498 | 490.5 | 7.6 | 125 | 9 | 3 (1) |
2012 VP113 | 265 | 263.158 | 80.4500 | 448 | 445.88 | 4.0 | 460 | 5 | 26 (739) |
1996 PW | 267 | 240 | 2.5557 | 532 | 480 | 14.0 | 7 | 2 | 250 (506) |
2011 OR17 (2010 KZ127) | 272 | 270 | 3.0987 | 550 | 540 | 13.1 | 10 | 1 | 101 (748) |
2013 RF98 | 320 | 316.7 | 36.288 | 603 | 597 |
| 90 | 5 | 38 (56) |
(336756) 2010 NV1 | 322.7 | 286 | 9.41587 | 635.9 | 562 | 10.6 | 34 | 1 | 147 (1815) |
474640 Alicanto | 328.8 | 327.3 | 47.3324 | 610.3 | 607.3 | 6.4 | 314 | 2 | 28 (3611) |
(418993) 2009 MS9 | 349.55 | 352.5 | 11.00317 | 688.1 | 694 |
| 42 | 1 | 134 (1995) |
2010 GB174 | 367 | 351.1 | 48.5600 | 686 | 653.7 | 6.5 | 223 | 3 | 18 (965) |
2007 DA61 | 475 | 500 | 2.6550 | 950 | 900 |
| 4.5 | 4 | 78 (29) |
2010 BK118 | 490 | 385 | 6.1050 | 980 | 770 | 10.2 | 38 | 1 | 292 (1319) |
90377 Sedna | 524.2 | 505.88 | 76.094 | 972.4 | 935.6 | 1.5 | 1000 | 2 | 90 (8819) |
2007 TG422 | 530 | 501.8 | 35.5830 | 1030 | 968 | 6.2 | 343 | 2 | 34 (1956) |
(87269) 2000 OO67 | 570 | 555 | 20.7900 | 1100 | 1110 | 9.2 | 60 | 2 | 34 (2187) |
2002 RN109 | 720 | 850 | 2.7040 | 1440 | 1201 | 15.3 | 4 | 3 | 38 (80) |
(308933) 2006 SQ372 | 765 | 792 | 24.172 | 1500 | 1585 | 8.1 | 110 | 2 | 65 (1830) |
2013 AZ60 | 880 | 593 | 7.908 | 1700 | 1176 | 10.2 | 62.3 | 1 | 189 (8067) |
2013 BL76 | 1251 | 940 | 8.37358 | 2494 | 1825 | 10.8 | 35 | 1 | 68 (687) |
2012 DR30 (2009 FW54) | 1300 | 1036 | 14.546 | 2600 | 2030 | 7.1 | 171 | 0 | 206 (5375) |
2005 VX3 | 1300 | 1200 | 4.133 | 2700 | 2038 | 14.1 | 6 | 4 | 50 (81) |
2014 FE72 | 2000 | 1500 | 36.3 | 4000 | 3000 | 6.0789±0.1699 | 226 | 5 | 12 (623) |
Sedna is a dwarf planet in the outermost reaches of the Solar System, orbiting the Sun beyond the orbit of Neptune. Discovered in 2003, the planetoid's surface is one of the reddest known among Solar System bodies. Spectroscopy has revealed Sedna's surface to be mostly a mixture of the solid ices of water, methane, and nitrogen, along with widespread deposits of reddish-colored tholins, a chemical makeup similar to those of some other trans-Neptunian objects. Within the range of uncertainties, it is tied with the dwarf planet Ceres in the asteroid belt as the largest dwarf planet not known to have a moon. Its diameter is roughly 1,000 km. Owing to its lack of known moons, the Keplerian laws of planetary motion cannot be employed for determining its mass, and the precise figure as yet remains unknown.
(148209) 2000 CR105 is a trans-Neptunian object and the tenth-most-distant known object in the Solar System as of 2015. Considered a detached object, it orbits the Sun in a highly eccentric orbit every 3,305 years at an average distance of 222 astronomical units (AU).
Comet C/2006 M4 (SWAN) is a non-periodic comet discovered in late June 2006 by Robert D. Matson of Irvine, California and Michael Mattiazzo of Adelaide, South Australia in publicly available images of the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). These images were captured by the Solar Wind ANisotropies (SWAN) Lyman-alpha all-sky camera on board the SOHO. The comet was officially announced after a ground-based confirmation by Robert McNaught on July 12.
2006 QH181 (provisional designation 2006 QH181) is a trans-Neptunian object (TNO) in the scattered disc.
474640 Alicanto (provisional designation 2004 VN112) is a detached extreme trans-Neptunian object. It was discovered on 6 November 2004, by American astronomer Andrew C. Becker at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. It never gets closer than 47 AU from the Sun (near the outer edge of the main Kuiper belt) and averages more than 300 AU from the Sun. Its large eccentricity strongly suggests that it was gravitationally scattered onto its current orbit. Because it is, like all detached objects, outside the current gravitational influence of Neptune, how it came to have this orbit cannot yet be explained. It was named after Alicanto, a nocturnal bird in Chilean mythology.
(308933) 2006 SQ372 is a trans-Neptunian object and highly eccentric centaur on a cometary-like orbit in the outer region of the Solar System, approximately 123 kilometers (76 miles) in diameter. It was discovered through the Sloan Digital Sky Survey by astronomers Andrew Becker, Andrew Puckett and Jeremy Kubica on images first taken on 27 September 2006 (with precovery images dated to 13 September 2005).
C/1980 E1 is a non-periodic comet discovered by Edward L. G. Bowell on 11 February 1980 and which came closest to the Sun (perihelion) in March 1982. It is leaving the Solar System on a hyperbolic trajectory due to a close approach to Jupiter. In the 43 years since its discovery only two objects with higher eccentricities have been identified, 1I/ʻOumuamua (1.2) and 2I/Borisov (3.35).
(523622) 2007 TG422 (provisional designation 2007 TG422) is a trans-Neptunian object on a highly eccentric orbit in the scattered disc region at the edge of Solar System. Approximately 260 kilometers (160 miles) in diameter, it was discovered on 3 October 2007 by astronomers Andrew Becker, Andrew Puckett and Jeremy Kubica during the Sloan Digital Sky Survey at Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico, United States. According to American astronomer Michael Brown, the bluish object is "possibly" a dwarf planet. It belongs to a group of objects studied in 2014, which led to the proposition of the hypothetical Planet Nine.
(668643) 2012 DR30 is a trans-Neptunian object and centaur from the scattered disk and/or inner Oort cloud, located in the outermost region of the Solar System. The object with a highly eccentric orbit of 0.99 was first observed by astronomers with the Spacewatch program at Steward Observatory on 31 March 2009. It measures approximately 188 kilometers (120 miles) in diameter.
2013 AZ60 is a small Solar System body (extended centaur) from the scattered disk or inner Oort cloud. 2013 AZ60 has the 8th-largest semi-major axis of a minor planet not detected outgassing like a comet (2013 BL76, 2005 VX3 and 2012 DR30 have a larger semi-major axis).
2005 VX3 is trans-Neptunian object and retrograde damocloid on a highly eccentric, cometary-like orbit. It was first observed on 1 November 2005, by astronomers with the Mount Lemmon Survey at the Mount Lemmon Observatory in Arizona, United States. The unusual object measures approximately 7 kilometers (4 miles) in diameter. It has the 3rd largest known heliocentric semi-major axis and aphelion. Additionally its perihelion lies within the orbit of Jupiter, which means it also has the largest orbital eccentricity of any known minor planet.
2012 VP113, also known by its nickname "Biden", is a trans-Neptunian object of the sednoid population, located in the outermost reaches of the Solar System. It was first observed on 5 November 2012 by American astronomers Scott Sheppard and Chad Trujillo at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. The discovery was announced on 26 March 2014. The object probably measures somewhere between 300 and 1000 km in diameter, possibly large enough to be a dwarf planet.
2013 RF98 is a trans-Neptunian object. It was discovered on September 12, 2013, at Cerro Tololo-DECam.
2010 BK118 (also written 2010 BK118) is a centaur roughly 20–60 km in diameter. It is on a retrograde cometary orbit. It has a barycentric semi-major axis (average distance from the Sun) of ~400 AU.
(418993) 2009 MS9, provisionally known as 2009 MS9, is a centaur roughly 30–60 km in diameter. It has a highly inclined orbit and a barycentric semi-major axis (average distance from the Sun) of ~353 AU.
(336756) 2010 NV1 (provisional designation 2010 NV1) is a highly eccentric planet crossing trans-Neptunian object, also classified as centaur and damocloid, approximately 52 kilometers (32 miles) in diameter. It is on a retrograde cometary orbit. It has a barycentric semi-major axis (average distance from the Sun) of approximately 286 AU.
2014 FE72 is a trans-Neptunian object first observed on 26 March 2014, at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in La Serena, Chile. It is a possible dwarf planet, a member of the scattered disc, whose orbit extends into the inner Oort cloud. Discovered by Scott Sheppard and Chad Trujillo, the object's existence was revealed on 29 August 2016. Both the orbital period and aphelion distance of this object are well constrained. 2014 FE72 had the largest barycentric aphelion until 2018. However, the heliocentric aphelion of 2014 FE72 is second among trans-Neptunian objects (after the damocloid 2017 MB7). As of 2023, it is about 66 AU (9.9 billion km) from the Sun.
2017 MB7 is a trans-Neptunian object and damocloid on a cometary-like orbit from the outer Solar System, approximately 6 kilometers (4 miles) in diameter. It was first observed on 22 June 2017 by the Pan-STARRS survey at Haleakala Observatory in Hawaii, United States. This unusual object has the largest heliocentric aphelion, semi-major axis, orbital eccentricity and orbital period of any known periodic minor planet, even larger than that of 2014 FE72; it is calculated to reach several thousand AU (Earth-Sun) distances at the farthest extent of its orbit.
2018 VG18 is a distant trans-Neptunian object (TNO) that was discovered when it was 123 AU (18 billion km; 11 billion mi) away from the Sun, more than three times the average distance between the Sun and Pluto. It was discovered on 10 November 2018 by Scott Sheppard, David Tholen, and Chad Trujillo during their search for TNOs whose orbits might be gravitationally influenced by the hypothetical Planet Nine. They announced the discovery of 2018 VG18 on 17 December 2018 and nicknamed the object "Farout" to emphasize its distance from the Sun.