![]() 2004 GV9 imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope on 17 March 2010 | |
Discovery [1] | |
---|---|
Discovered by | NEAT (obs. code 644) |
Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
Discovery date | 13 April 2004 |
Designations | |
(90568) 2004 GV9 | |
2004 GV9 | |
Orbital characteristics (barycentric) [6] | |
Epoch 5 May 2025 (JD 2460800.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 0 [2] or 1 [1] | |
Observation arc | 70+ yr |
Earliest precovery date | 21 December 1954 [1] |
Aphelion | 45.160 AU |
Perihelion | 38.730 AU |
41.945 AU | |
Eccentricity | 0.0766 |
271.48 yr (99,158 d) | |
48.258° | |
0° 0m 13.07s / day | |
Inclination | 21.983° |
250.605° | |
292.116° | |
Physical characteristics | |
680±34 km [3] | |
5.86 h [2] | |
0.077+0.0084 −0.0077 [3] | |
19.9 [9] | |
(90568) 2004 GV9 (provisional designation 2004 GV9) is a large trans-Neptunian planetoid that was discovered in 2004 by the Near Earth Asteroid Tracking survey at Palomar Observatory. [1] It is classified as a classical Kuiper belt object of the dynamically "hot" population, which follow highly inclined or eccentric orbits around the Sun. [3] : 2
2004 GV9 is 680±34 km in diameter, according to measurements of its infrared thermal emission by the Herschel and Spitzer space telescopes. [3] It is one of the largest known unnamed objects in the Solar System.[ citation needed ] Mike Brown estimates that it is likely a dwarf planet. [10] Gonzalo Tancredi notes that light-curve-amplitude analysis shows only small deviations, suggesting that 2004 GV9 could be a spheroid with small albedo spots and therefore could be a dwarf planet. [11] However, its low albedo suggests it has never been resurfaced and thus is unlikely to have the planetary geology expected of a dwarf planet. [12]
2004 GV9 was discovered on by the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) survey, [13] which was a NASA-directed project for finding near-Earth asteroids in the sky using telescopes at various observatories across the United States. [14] The telescope that discovered 2004 GV9 was the 1.22-meter (48 in) Samuel Oschin telescope at Palomar Observatory in San Diego County, California. [13] The people involved in making the discovery observations at Palomar included Steven Pravdo, D. MacDonald, Kenneth Lawrence and Michael D. Hicks. [13] [14] The discovery of 2004 GV9 was announced by the Minor Planet Center (MPC) on 14 April 2004, after several other observatories observed the object. [13]
Precovery observations of 2004 GV9 were first reported by astronomer Reiner Stoss and published by the MPC on 10 June 2004. [15] These precovery observations, which came from Digitized Sky Survey images from 1993–1997, allowed for an accurate determination of 2004 GV9's orbit without the need for follow-up observations. [15] Even earlier precovery observations have since been reported, from dates as early as December 1954. [1]
This object has the minor planet provisional designation 2004 GV9, which was given by the MPC in the discovery announcement. [13] The provisional designation indicates the year and half-month of the object's discovery date. [16] 2004 GV9 received its permanent minor planet catalog number of 90568 from the MPC on 30 August 2004. [17]
2004 GV9 does not have a proper name and the discoverers' privilege for naming this object has expired ten years after it was numbered. [1] [18] : 6 According to naming guidelines by the International Astronomical Union's Working Group for Small Bodies Nomenclature, 2004 GV9 is open for name suggestions that relate to creation myths, as recommended for Kuiper belt objects in general. [18] : 8
2004 GV9 is a trans-Neptunian object orbiting the Sun at a semi-major axis or average distance of 41.9 astronomical units (AU). [6] [a] It has an orbital eccentricity of 0.08 and an inclination of 22° with respect to the ecliptic. [6] In its 271-year-long orbit, 2004 GV9 comes as close as 38.7 AU from the Sun at perihelion and as far as 45.2 AU from the Sun at aphelion. [6]
2004 GV9 is located in the classical region of the Kuiper belt 39–48 AU from the Sun, [4] : 53 and is thus classified as a classical Kuiper belt object (sometimes known as a "cubewano"). [4] : 55 The high orbital inclination of 2004 GV9 makes it a dynamically "hot" member of the classical Kuiper belt. [3] : 3 The hot classical Kuiper belt objects are believed to have been scattered by Neptune's gravitational influence during the Solar System's early history. [20] : 230