2020 MK53

Last updated

2020 MK53
Discovery [1]
Discovered by New Horizons KBO Search-Subaru
Discovery site Mauna Kea Obs.
Discovery date22 June 2020
Designations
2020 MK53
TNO [2]  · distant [1]
Orbital characteristics [2]
Epoch 24 June 2020 (JD 2459024.5)
Uncertainty parameter 9
Observation arc 3 days
Aphelion 160±30235 AU
Perihelion 63±58812 AU
111±21051 AU
Eccentricity 0.44±457
1174±33309 yr
182° ±3376000 °
0° 0m 3.024s / day
Inclination 182° ±3376000 °
116°±2975°
351°±1470600°
Physical characteristics
600–500 km (est. 0.1–0.2) [3]
26.3 [4]
4.12±0.35 [2] [1]

    2020 MK53 is a lost trans-Neptunian object discovered on 22 June 2020 and announced on 7 April 2023 (MPS 1836391, MPO 735634) by the New Horizons KBO Search team [5] using the 8.2-meter Subaru Telescope at Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawaii. [1] The orbit of 2020 MK53 is highly uncertain because it was observed for only 3 days, which is not long enough to determine an orbit accurately. [6] [1] Its distance from the Sun might be around 160 astronomical units according to orbital calculations, which would make 2020 MK53 the farthest known Solar System object from the Sun. [7] However, the uncertainty in 2020 MK53's distance from the Sun ranges from ±4 AU to over ±20,000 AU, depending on the method of calculation. [6] Given its very short observation arc, the only reliably known property of 2020 MK53 is its extremely faint apparent magnitude of 26.3. [4]

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 5 "2020 MK53". Minor Planet Center. International Astronomical Union. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
    2. 1 2 3 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2020 MK53)" (2020-06-25 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory . Retrieved 9 September 2023.
    3. ↑ "Asteroid Size Estimator". Center for Near Earth Object Studies. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
    4. 1 2 "Distant objects". Minor Planet Center. International Astronomical Union. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
    5. ↑ "Subaru Telescope and New Horizons Explore the Outer Solar System". Subaru Telescope. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
    6. 1 2 C. de la Fuente Marcos & R. de la Fuente Marcos (1 January 2024). "Past the outer rim, into the unknown: structures beyond the Kuiper Cliff". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Letters. 527 (1): L110 –L114. arXiv: 2309.03885 . Bibcode:2024MNRAS.527L.110D. doi: 10.1093/mnrasl/slad132 . Retrieved 28 September 2023.
    7. ↑ "JPL Horizons On-Line Ephemeris for 2020 MK53". JPL Horizons On-Line Ephemeris System . Jet Propulsion Laboratory . Retrieved 9 September 2023. Ephemeris Type: VECTORS, Target Body: Asteroid (2020 MK53)
    This page is based on this Wikipedia article
    Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
    Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.