| Discovery [1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Pan-STARRS 1 |
| Discovery site | Haleakala Obs. |
| Discovery date | 14 July 2010 |
| Designations | |
| (523727) 2014 NW65 | |
| centaur [2] [3] [4] · distant [1] | |
| Orbital characteristics [2] | |
| Epoch 25 February 2023 (JD 2460000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 2 | |
| Observation arc | 12.45 yr (4,546 d) |
| Aphelion | 35.388 AU |
| Perihelion | 11.185 AU |
| 23.286 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.5197 |
| 112.37 yr (41,044 d) | |
| 311.34° | |
| 0° 0m 31.68s / day | |
| Inclination | 20.424° |
| 216.01° | |
| 232.73° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 212 km [3] 213 km [5] | |
| 0.08 (est.) [5] 0.09 (est.) [3] | |
| 6.5 [1] [2] 6.8 [5] | |
(523727) 2014 NW65 (provisional designation 2014 NW65) is a large centaur from the outer Solar System, approximately 220 kilometers (140 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 14 July 2010 by astronomers with the Pan-STARRS-1 survey at Haleakala Observatory, Hawaii, in the United States. [1] The minor planet was numbered in 2018 and has not been named.
2014 NW65 is a member of the centaurs, an inward-moving population of bodies transiting from the Kuiper belt to the group of Jupiter-family comets. Their eccentric orbits are often in between those of Jupiter and Neptune, that is, they have a semi-major axis of typically 5.5 to 30.1 AU. Centaurs are cometary-like bodies. They have a short dynamical lifetime due to the perturbing forces exerted on them by the Solar System's outer planets.
It orbits the Sun at a distance of 11.2–35.4 AU once every 112 years and 4 months (41,044 days; semi-major axis of 23.29 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.52 and an inclination of 20° with respect to the ecliptic. [2] It has 3 precovery observations back to 2009. [1]
This minor planet was numbered by the Minor Planet Center on 25 September 2018, receiving the number 523727 in the minor planet catalog ( M.P.C. 111779). [6] As of 2025 [update] , it has not been named. [1] According to the established naming conventions, it will be named after one of the many centaurs from Greek mythology, which are creatures with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse. [7]
2014 NW65 has an absolute magnitude of 6.5. [1] According to Johnston's Archive and astronomer Michael Brown, it measures 212 and 213 kilometers in diameter, based on an assumed albedo for the body's surface of 0.09 and 0.08, respectively. [3] [5] It is one of the largest centaurs, comparable in size with 2060 Chiron, 10199 Chariklo, and 54598 Bienor.
As of 2021 [update] , no physical characteristics have been determined from photometric observations. The body's color, rotation period, pole and shape remain unknown. [2] [8]