| 2001 QF298 imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2006. | |
| Discovery [1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Marc W. Buie [2] Cerro Tololo (807) |
| Discovery date | August 19, 2001 |
| Designations | |
| 2001 QF298 | |
| none | |
| TNO [3] · plutino [4] [5] | |
| Orbital characteristics [3] | |
| Epoch 13 January 2016 (JD 2457400.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 3 | |
| Observation arc | 4526 days (12.39 yr) |
| Aphelion | 43.726 AU (6.5413 Tm) |
| Perihelion | 34.756 AU (5.1994 Tm) |
| 39.241 AU (5.8704 Tm) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.11429 |
| 245.82 yr (89784.4 d) | |
Average orbital speed | 4.73 km/s |
| 154.29° | |
| 0° 0m 14.435s /day | |
| Inclination | 22.408° |
| 164.24° | |
| 41.215° | |
| Known satellites | 0 |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 408.2+40.2 −44.9 km [6] |
| 0.071+0.020 −0.014 [6] | |
| B−V=0.67 ± 0.07 V−R=0.39 ± 0.06 [6] | |
| 5.43 ± 0.07, [6] 5.2 [3] | |
(469372) 2001 QF298, provisionally known as 2001 QF298, is a resonant trans-Neptunian object that resides in the Kuiper belt in the outermost region of the Solar System. [6] It was discovered on August 19, 2001 by Marc W. Buie. [2] 2001 QF298 is a plutino, meaning that it is locked in a 3:2 orbital resonance with Neptune, much like Pluto. [6]
In 2012, the size of 2001 QF298 was estimated based on thermal radiation data obtained with the Herschel Space Telescope. The result was 408.2+40.2
−44.9 km. [6]
In the visible light, the object appears to have a neutral or slightly red color. [7]
When first discovered, 2001 QF298 was calculated to have an absolute magnitude (H) of 4.7. [1] Light-curve-amplitude analysis from 2008 showed only small deviations, which suggested that 2001 QF298 could be a spheroid about 480 kilometres (300 mi) in diameter with small albedo spots and hence a dwarf planet. [8] It is not included in the same authors' list of dwarf-planet candidates from 2010 because having an absolute magnitude of 5.4 and assumed albedo of 0.1, it would be less than the cut-off size of 450 kilometres (280 mi) [9] (the same criteria as in the first paper). [8]