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Discovery [1] | |
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Discovered by | S. S. Sheppard D. J. Tholen C. Trujillo |
Discovery site | Mauna Kea Obs. |
Discovery date | 17 February 2021 |
Designations | |
2021 DR15 | |
TNO [2] · SDO [3] · distant [4] | |
Orbital characteristics [4] | |
Epoch 21 January 2022 (JD 2459600.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 5 | |
Observation arc | 16.74 yr (6,115 days) |
Earliest precovery date | 10 March 2005 |
Aphelion | 96.518 AU |
Perihelion | 37.824 AU |
67.171 AU | |
Eccentricity | 0.4369 |
551 yr | |
334.122° | |
0° 0m 6.445s / day | |
Inclination | 30.691 |
334.122 | |
21.846 | |
Physical characteristics | |
530–850 km (for albedo = est. 0.1–0.2) [5] | |
23.2 [1] | |
3.61±0.15 [2] | |
2021 DR15 is a large trans-Neptunian object in the scattered disc, estimated to be around 600 to 800 kilometres (400 to 500 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 17 February 2021, by American astronomers Scott Sheppard, David Tholen, and Chad Trujillo using the 8.2-meter Subaru Telescope of the Mauna Kea Observatories in Hawaii, and announced on 17 December 2021. [1] With an absolute magnitude of between 3.4 and 3.8, it may be the brightest known object in the Solar System that does not have a directly measured size. It was 89.4 astronomical units from the Sun when it was discovered, making it the ninth-most distant known Solar System object from the Sun as of December 2021 [update] . [1] It has been identified in several precovery images as far back as 10 March 2005. [2]
2021 DR15 has not yet been imaged by high-resolution telescopes, so it has no known moons. [6] The Hubble Space Telescope is planned to image 2021 DR15 in 2026, which should determine if it has significantly sized moons. [6]