58534 Logos

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58534 Logos
Logos-zoe-hst.jpg
Logos and its companion Zoe imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2004
Discovery
Discovered by Mauna Kea Obs. (team disc.)
Discovery site Mauna Kea Obs.
Discovery date4 February 1997
Designations
(58534) Logos
Pronunciation /ˈlɡɒs/ or /ˈlɒɡɒs/
Named after
Logos [1]
(Aeon in Ptolemy Gnostics)
1997 CQ29
TNO [1]  · cubewano [2]
cold [3]
Adjectives Logian /ˈlɒiən/ [4]
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 13 January 2016 (JD 2457400.5)
Uncertainty parameter 3
Observation arc 5582 days (15.28 yr)
Aphelion 51.153  AU (7.6524  Tm)
Perihelion 39.945 AU (5.9757 Tm)
45.549 AU (6.8140 Tm)
Eccentricity 0.12304
307.42 yr (112284 d)
56.495°
0° 0m 11.542s / day
Inclination 2.8946°
132.491°
339.21°
Known satellites Zoe (est. D: 66 km) [5]
Physical characteristics
77±18 km [6]
Mass 2.7×1017  kg
Mean density
1.0 g/cm3 [7]
17.43±0.06 hr [7]
0.39 ± 0.17 [6]
6.6 [1]

    58534 Logos, or as a binary system (58534) Logos-Zoe, [8] is a trans-Neptunian object and binary system from the classical Kuiper belt, approximately 77 kilometers (48 miles) in diameter. The bright cubewano belongs to the cold population and has a 66-kilometer (41 miles) sized companion named Zoe. [6] The system mass is (4.58±0.07)×1017  kg . [8]

    Contents

    In the Gnostic tradition, Logos and Zoe are a paired emanation of the deity, and part of its creation myth. [1]

    Hubble Space Telescope observations of variations in Logos' brightness indicate that it is likely a close binary or contact binary. It rotates with a period of 17.4 hours. [7]

    Zoe

    Zoe
    Orbit5.gif
    Two bodies with similar mass orbiting around a common barycenter (red cross) with elliptic orbits. The interaction of Logos and Zoe is similar to this.
    Discovery
    Discovered by Keith S. Noll et al.
    Discovery date17 November 2001
    Designations
    Pronunciation /ˈz./
    Named after
    Zoe (Ζωή)
    (58534) Logos I
    Adjectives Zoean /zˈən/ )
    Orbital characteristics [8]
    8217 km
    Eccentricity 0.546
    309.9 d
    Satellite of Logos
    Physical characteristics [5]
    Dimensions 66 km
    Mass (1.5±0.2)×1017 kg

      Logos is a binary with the components of comparable size orbiting the barycentre on a moderately elliptical orbit.

      Logos was discovered on 4 February 1997, and its companion, Zoe, was discovered on 17 November 2001 from Hubble Space Telescope observations by K. S. Noll, D. C. Stephens, W. M. Grundy, J. Spencer, Robert Millis, Marc Buie, Dale Cruikshank, S. C. Tegler, and W. Romanishin and announced on 11 February 2002.

      After the discovery, it received the provisional designation S/2001 (58534) 1. Once confirmed it was officially designated (58534) Logos I and named Zoe. It orbits Logos with a semi-major axis of 8217 km in 309.9 days with an eccentricity of 0.546. [8] Its estimated diameter is 66 km, [5] and mass (0.15 ± 0.02)×1018 kg.

      Zoe potentially has a very slow rotation. As of 2025, its shape is unknown. [7]

      Orbit

      A 10-million-year integration of the orbit shows that it is a Classical Kuiper belt object that does not get closer to the Sun than 38.8  AU (5.80  billion   km ) or further than 52.1 AU. [2]

      Orbit of Logos (grey object) compared with Pluto (orange) and Neptune (blue) Pluto Logos Neptune.jpg
      Orbit of Logos (grey object) compared with Pluto (orange) and Neptune (blue)

      References

      1. 1 2 3 4 5 "58534 Logos (1997 CQ29)". JPL Small-Body Database . NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory . Retrieved 12 April 2016.
      2. 1 2 Marc W. Buie (31 May 2003). "Orbit Fit and Astrometric record for 58534". SwRI (Space Science Department).
      3. Brown, Mike. "How many dwarf planets are there in the Solar System" . Retrieved 17 February 2018.
      4. "Logian" . Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press.(Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
      5. 1 2 3 Wm. Robert Johnston (4 March 2007). "(58534) Logos and Zoe". Johnston's Archive.
      6. 1 2 3 Grundy, W. M; Noll, K. S.; Stephens, D. C. (2005). "Diverse albedos of small trans-neptunian objects". Icarus. 176 (1): 184–191. arXiv: astro-ph/0502229 . Bibcode:2005Icar..176..184G. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2005.01.007. S2CID   118866288.
      7. 1 2 3 4 Thirouin, Audrey; Noll, Keith S.; et al. (June 2025). "Logos-Zoe: A Contact Binary Triple System in the Trans-Neptunian Belt". The Astronomical Journal . 169 (6): 316. arXiv: 2504.15363 . Bibcode:2025AJ....169..316T. doi: 10.3847/1538-3881/adcf24 .
      8. 1 2 3 4 Grundy, W. M.; Noll, K. S.; Nimmo, F.; Roe, H. G.; Buie, M. W.; Porter, S. B.; Benecchi, S. D.; Stephens, D. C.; Levison, H. F.; Stansberry, J. A. (2011). "Five new and three improved mutual orbits of transneptunian binaries" (PDF). Icarus. 213 (2): 678. arXiv: 1103.2751 . Bibcode:2011Icar..213..678G. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2011.03.012. S2CID   9571163.