(589683) 2010 RF43

Last updated

(589683) 2010 RF43
Discovery [1] [2]
Discovered by D. L. Rabinowitz
M. Schwamb
S. Tourtellotte
Discovery site La Silla Obs.
Discovery date6 September 2010
Designations
(589683) 2010 RF43
2010 RF43
TNO [3] [4]  · SDO [5]  · distant [1]
Orbital characteristics [3]
Epoch 31 May 2020 (JD 2459000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 2
Observation arc 46.17 yr (~16,860 days)
Earliest precovery date19 August 1976 [1]
Aphelion 61.903 AU
Perihelion 37.482 AU
49.692 AU
Eccentricity 0.2457
350.30 yr (127,948 d)
97.520°
0° 0m 10.08s / day
Inclination 30.638°
25.320°
193.480°
Known satellites 0
Physical characteristics
≈637 km(estimate) [4]
0.09 (assumed) [4]
0.11 (assumed) [6]
3.81 [3]

    (589683) 2010 RF43 (provisional designation 2010 RF43) is a large trans-Neptunian object orbiting in the scattered disc in the outermost regions of the Solar System. The object was discovered on 9 September 2010, by American astronomers David Rabinowitz, Megan Schwamb and Suzanne Tourtellotte at ESO's La Silla Observatory in northern Chile. [1]

    Contents

    2010 RF43 has not yet been imaged by high-resolution telescopes, so it has no known moons. [7] The Hubble Space Telescope is planned to image 2010 RF43 in 2026, which should determine if it has significantly sized moons. [7]

    Orbit and classification

    2010 RF43 orbits the Sun at a distance of 37.5–61.9  AU once every 350 years and 4 months (127,948 days; semi-major axis of 49.7 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.25 and an inclination of 31° with respect to the ecliptic. [3] The body's observation arc begins with a precovery observation taken at Siding Spring Observatory in August 1976. [1]

    Due to its relatively high eccentricity and inclination, it is an object of the scattered disc rather than one of the regular Kuiper belt. [2] [8] Its perihelion of 37.5 AU is also too low to make it a detached object, which typically stay above 40 AU and never come close to the orbit of Neptune.

    Numbering and naming

    This minor planet was numbered by the Minor Planet Center on 20 September 2021, receiving the number 589683 in the minor planet catalog ( M.P.C. 135075). [9] As of 2025, it has not been named. [1]

    Physical characteristics

    Diameter and albedo

    Johnston's Archive estimates a mean diameter of approximately 637 kilometers (396 mi). [4] This number has changed as the reported albedo has changed.

    Rotation period

    As of 2020, no rotational lightcurve of this object has been obtained from photometric observations. The object's rotation period, pole and shape remain unknown. [3]

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "2010 RF43". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
    2. 1 2 "List Of Centaurs and Scattered-Disk Objects". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
    3. 1 2 3 4 5 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2010 RF43)" (2020-08-19 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory . Retrieved 28 August 2020.
    4. 1 2 3 4 Johnston, Wm. Robert (29 August 2021). "List of Known Trans-Neptunian Objects". Johnston's Archive. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
    5. ↑ Buie, Marc W. "Orbit Fit and Astrometric record for 10RF43". SwRI (Space Science Department). Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
    6. ↑ Brown, Michael E. "How many dwarf planets are there in the outer solar system?". California Institute of Technology . Retrieved 23 February 2018.
    7. 1 2 Proudfoot, Benjamin (August 2025). "A Search For The Moons of Mid-Sized TNOs". Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes. Space Telescope Science Institute: HST Proposal 18010. Cycle 33. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
    8. ↑ "List Of Transneptunian Objects". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
    9. ↑ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
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