Jump to content

V774104

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 189.106.227.35 (talk) at 01:36, 13 November 2015. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

V774104
Discovery
Discovery siteSubaru telescope
Physical characteristics
Dimensions500-1000 km[1]
~23-25[a]
~3.5[2]

V774104 is a trans-Neptunian object (TNO), currently about 103 AU from the Sun and half the size of Pluto.[3][4] A distance of 103 AU represents 15.4 billion kilometers or 9.6 billion miles.[5] As of the announcement of the discovery in November 2015, it is the most distant observed TNO in the Solar System.[4][6]

Discovery

The object's discovery telescope, Subaru (Japanese name for the Pleiades) on the far left, alongside the twin Keck telescopes and NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility

V774104 was discovered by a team using the Subaru Telescope, a large reflecting telescope with a primary mirror 8 meters (26 ft) in diameter and located at the summit of Mauna Kea.[1] The discovery was announced at the November 2015 meeting of the American Astronomical Society’s Division for Planetary Sciences; the discovery team was lead by Scott Sheppard and Chad Trujillo.[6]

Possible sednoid

The orbit of Sedna in red, also very distant with its calculated orbit set against the orbits of several planets and Pluto

Being a trans-Neptunian object so far from the Sun with an observation arc of less than 1 year, its perihelion and aphelion have not been securely established. It may or may not be a sednoid. To qualify as a sednoid, when the observation arc is closer to 1 year, V774104 will to need to have perihelion greater than 50 AU and a semi-major axis greater than 150 AU. There are only 3 other objects known to have perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) greater than 50AU: 90377 Sedna, 2012 VP113, and 2004 XR190.[7][8] But 2004 XR190 has a low orbital eccentricity with perihelion at 51 AU.[7] Sedna and 2012 VP113 have both had their perihelion point lifted well beyond the classic Kuiper belt of 30–50AU.

Orbit

No astrometry has been released publicly so the object does not have a minor planet designation and the uncertainties of the orbital elements are unknown. If it is a sednoid or extreme trans-Neptunian object it may point towards a shepherding planet hundreds of astronomical units from the Sun.[1][5] But it is more likely that the lifted perihelion point would be the result of the crowded confines of the open star cluster in which the Sun formed.[1]

Most distant Solar System object

Many news sources heralded V774104 as "the most distant Solar System object".[6] At the time of discovery only the Voyager and Pioneer 10 spacecraft as well as various long period or hyperbolic comets were more distant than V774104.[5] (Note that the probes are traveling faster than solar escape velocity and will escape the Sun's gravity; see also List of artificial objects leaving the Solar System.) All these objects are much smaller than V774104.

Positions of known outer Solar System objects
  Sun
  Jupiter trojans (6,178)
  Scattered disc (>300)   Giant planets: J · S · U · N
  Centaurs (44,000)
  Kuiper belt (>1,000)
(scale in AU; epoch as of January 2015; # of objects in parentheses)

These Solar System minor planets are the furthest from the Sun as of December 2021. The objects have been categorized by their approximate current distance from the Sun, and not by the calculated aphelion of their orbit. The list changes over time because the objects are moving in their orbits. Some objects are inbound and some are outbound. It would be difficult to detect long-distance comets if it were not for their comas, which become visible when heated by the Sun. Distances are measured in astronomical units (AU, Sun–Earth distances). The distances are not the minimum (perihelion) or the maximum (aphelion) that may be achieved by these objects in the future.

This list does not include near-parabolic comets of which many are known to be currently more than 100 AU (15 billion km) from the Sun, but are currently too far away to be observed by telescope. Trans-Neptunian objects are typically announced publicly months or years after their discovery, so as to make sure the orbit is correct before announcing it. Due to their greater distance from the Sun and slow movement across the sky, trans-Neptunian objects with observation arcs less than several years often have poorly constrained orbits. Particularly distant objects take several years of observations to establish a crude orbit solution before being announced. For instance, the most distant known trans-Neptunian object 2018 AG37 was discovered by Scott Sheppard in January 2018 but was announced three years later in February 2021.[9]

Noted objects

One particularly distant body is 90377 Sedna, which was discovered in November 2003. It has an extremely eccentric orbit that takes it to an aphelion of 937 AU.[10] It takes over 10,000 years to orbit, and during the next 50 years it will slowly move closer to the Sun as it comes to perihelion at a distance of 76 AU from the Sun.[11] Sedna is the largest known sednoid, a class of objects that play an important role in the Planet Nine hypothesis.

Pluto (30–49 AU, about 34 AU in 2015) was the first Kuiper belt object to be discovered (1930) and is the largest known dwarf planet.

Known distant objects

This is a list of known objects at heliocentric distances of more than 65 AU. In theory, the Oort cloud could extend over 120,000 AU (2 ly) from the Sun.

Most distant observable objects in the Solar System as of December 2021[12]
Object name Distance from the Sun (AU) Radial velocity
(AU/yr)[b]
Perihelion Aphelion Semimajor
axis
Apparent
magnitude
Absolute
magnitude
(H)
Important dates
December 2021 December 2015 Discovered Announced
Great Comet of 1680
(for comparison)
258.0[13] 255.4[13] +0.47[13] 0.006 889 444 Unknown Unknown 1680-11-14
Voyager 1
(for comparison)
152.9[13] 133.3[13] +3.57[13] 8.90
Hyperbolic
−3.2[14] ~50 ~28
2018 AG37 132.9±1.8 131.9±10.7 ±0.2(?) 27.1 145.0 86.0 25.4 4.2 2018-01-15 2021-02-10
Voyager 2
(for comparison)
129.4[13] 109.7[13] +3.17[13] 21.2
Hyperbolic
−4.0[14] ~48 ~28
Pioneer 10
(for comparison)
128.9[13] 114.8[13] +2.51[13] 4.94
Hyperbolic
~49 ~29
2018 VG18 123.6 123.2 +0.06 37.8 123.9 81.3 24.6 3.7 2018-11-10 2018-12-17
2020 BE102 110.9 111.7 32.9 116.9 74.9 25.6 5.1 2020-01-24 2022-05-31
Pioneer 11
(for comparison)
107.7[13] 92.5[13] +2.35[13] 9.45
Hyperbolic
~48 ~29
2020 FY30 98.9 99.9 –0.17 35.6 107.7 71.6 24.8 4.7 2020-03-24 2021-02-14
2020 FA31 97.3 96.5 +0.14 39.5 102.4 71.0 25.4 5.4 2020-03-24 2021-02-14
Eris
136199
95.9 96.3 −0.07 38.3 97.5 67.9 18.8 −1.21 2003-10-21 2005-07-29
2020 FQ40 92.4 92.7 –0.05 38.2 93.1 65.6 25.7 6.1 2020-03-24 2022-05-31
2015 TH367[c] 90.3 88.2 +0.42 28.9 136.4 82.6 26.3 6.6 2015-10-13 2018-03-13
2021 DR15 89.6 88.6 +0.17(?) 37.8 96.5 67.2 23.1 3.6 2021-02-17 2021-12-17
2014 UZ224 89.5 92.0 −0.45 38.3 177.0 107.6 23.2 3.4 2014-10-21 2016-08-28
Gonggong
225088
88.7 87.4 +0.23 33.7 101.2 67.5 21.5 1.6 2007-07-17 2009-01-07
2015 FG415 87.2 87.9 −0.14 36.2 92.1 64.1 25.5 6.0 2015-03-17 2019-03-27
2014 FC69 85.5 84.1 +0.26 40.4 104.4 72.4 24.2 4.6 2014-03-25 2015-02-11
2006 QH181 84.6 83.3 +0.22 37.5 96.7 67.1 23.7 4.3 2006-08-21 2006-11-05
Sedna
90377
84.2 85.8 −0.29 76.3 892.6 484.4 21.0 1.3 2003-11-14 2004-03-15
2015 VO166 84.3 82.5 +0.32 38.3 113.2 75.8 25.5 5.9 2015-11-06 2018-10-02
2012 VP113 84.2 83.3 +0.16 80.4 442.6 261.5 23.5 4.0 2012-11-05 2014-03-26
2013 FS28 83.5 85.9 −0.62 34.2 358.2 196.2 24.3 4.9 2013-03-16 2016-08-29
2017 SN132 82.8 80.4 +0.44 42.0 110.0 76.0 25.2 5.8 2017-09-16 2019-02-10
2019 EU5 81.7 85.5 46.5 2310 1178 25.6 6.4 2019-03-05 2021-12-17
2015 UH87[c] 81.3 82.3 −0.19 34.3 90.0 62.2 25.2 6.0 2015-10-16 2018-03-12
2013 FY27
532037
79.7 80.3 −0.10 35.2 82.1 58.7 22.2 3.2 2013-03-17 2014-03-31
2021 DP15 79.7 76.2 29.1 204.1 116.6 25.4 6.2 2021-02-16 2021-12-17
2015 TJ367[c] 79.4 77.1 +0.42 33.6 128.1 80.9 25.8 6.7 2015-10-13 2018-03-13
2017 FO161 78.1 79.1 −0.18 34.1 85.5 59.8 23.3 4.3 2017-03-23 2018-04-02
Leleākūhonua
541132
77.6 79.8 −0.40 65.2 2,106 1,085 24.6 5.5 2015-10-13 2018-10-01
2018 AD39 77.2 74.1 –0.58 38.4 287.9 163.2 25.0 6.2 2018-01-15 2021-02-13
2020 FB31 75.8 76.8 –0.19 34.4 83.3 59.1 24.5 5.6 2020-03-24 2021-02-14
2018 AK39 75.3 75.4 –0.01 27.3 75.4 51.4 25.3 6.5 2018-01-18 2021-02-18
2021 LL37 73.9 74.2 –0.05 36.1 74.6 55.4 22.7 4.0 2021-06-02 2022-05-31
2010 GB174 73.6 70.7 +0.54 48.7 630.7 339.7 25.3 6.5 2010-04-12 2013-04-30
2015 VJ168 73.4 72.4 +0.19 37.6 81.5 59.5 24.8 5.8 2015-11-06 2018-10-03
2015 DU249 73.1 72.7 +0.06 34.7 73.7 54.2 23.9 5.2 2015-02-17 2018-07-23
2014 FJ72 72.6 70.1 +0.46 38.4 148.2 93.3 24.4 5.6 2014-03-24 2016-08-31
2016 TS97[c] 71.2 71.5 −0.04 36.2 71.7 54.0 24.9 6.1 2016-10-06 2018-04-02
2015 GN55 71.0 72.1 −0.19 32.5 78.4 55.5 24.6 5.8 2015-04-13 2018-09-02
2015 VL168 69.7 72.1 –0.44 37.7 136.0 86.8 24.7 6.1 2015-11-07 2018-10-03
2020 BA95 69.6 68.4 +0.20 35.9 76.5 56.2 24.3 5.8 2020-01-25 2021-12-17
2015 RZ277 69.3 67.5 +0.32 34.7 90.5 62.6 25.6 6.8 2015-09-08 2018-10-01
2021 DJ17 69.0 69.2 40.4 69.4 54.9 23.2 6.7 2021-02-17 2022-05-31
2012 FH84 68.8 68.4 +0.07 41.9 70.1 56.0 25.8 7.2 2012-03-25 2016-06-07
2019 AC77 68.7 69.9 –0.21 35.0 79.0 57.0 25.0 6.6 2019-01-11 2021-02-14
2015 GR50 68.6 68.2 +0.07 38.2 69.7 54.0 25.2 6.6 2015-04-13 2016-08-31
2013 FQ28 68.4 67.3 +0.19 45.6 80.0 62.7 24.5 6.0 2013-03-17 2016-06-07
2011 GM89 68.3 68.5 –0.24 36.5 68.8 52.7 25.7 7.1 2011-04-04 2016-08-31
2021 DQ15 68.3 71.4 27.8 130.9 79.3 24.7 6.3 2021-02-16 2021-12-17
2021 DG17 67.6 66.7 +0.15 47.5 75.8 61.7 23.2 5.0 2021-02-17 2022-05-31
2015 GP50 67.5 68.1 –0.10 40.4 70.0 55.2 25.0 6.5 2015-04-14 2016-06-07
2016 CD289 67.2 66.2 +0.18 37.5 74.0 55.8 25.7 7.3 2016-02-05 2018-03-13
2018 VJ137 67.2 69.7 –0.42 37.8 139.3 88.5 25.2 6.9 2018-01-15 2021-02-13
2020 KV11 67.1 64.1 +0.50 35.0 155.0 95.6 25.6 7.3 2020-05-29 2022-11-02
2014 UD228 66.7 65.7 +0.18 36.7 73.3 55.0 24.5 6.1 2014-10-22 2017-12-07
2016 GB277 66.2 68.3 –0.39 40.0 119.4 79.7 25.6 7.3 2016-04-10 2020-06-04
2016 GZ276 66.1 69.2 –0.56 38.6 253.6 146.1 25.3 7.0 2016-04-10 2020-06-03
2014 FL72 66.1 63.3 +0.47 38.0 167.1 102.5 25.1 6.8 2014-03-26 2016-08-31
2016 TQ120[c] 65.8 63.7 +0.37 42.3 114.3 78.3 25.0 6.7 2016-10-06 2020-06-04
2015 RQ281 65.7 62.7 +0.56 36.9 210.6 123.8 25.1 6.8 2015-09-05 2019-03-27
2020 BS60[c] 65.7 68.0 –0.42 31.0 104.1 67.6 24.6 6.5 2020-01-26 2021-02-23
2013 UJ15 65.4 64.8 +0.11 37.2 67.4 52.3 25.4 7.0 2013-10-28 2016-08-31
2019 EV5 65.3 63.5 +0.30 32.0 79.8 55.9 25.8 7.6 2020-03-05 2021-12-17
2014 FD70 65.2 63.8 +0.26 35.9 78.6 57.3 25.1 6.9 2014-03-25 2018-04-02
2018 AZ18 65.1 65.9 –0.15 39.1 70.5 54.8 26.0 7.7 2018-01-15 2019-03-27
2015 KV167 65.0 65.2 –0.03 38.0 65.3 51.6 25.6 7.2 2015-05-18 2018-03-13
2018 VO35 65.0 67.8 –0.51 35.2 152.2 93.7 24.9 6.8 2018-11-10 2019-02-10
2020 KX11[c] 65.0 65.0 –0.01 64.6 67.1 65.9 26.4 8.2 2020-05-29 2020-09-25
This table includes all observable objects currently located at least 65 AU from the Sun.[12]


Objects that will become more distant than 103 AU from the Sun as they continue in their orbits include Sedna, 2000 CR105, 2012 DR30, 2013 BL76, and 2005 VX3. There are 589 known objects that have aphelion more than 103 AU from the Sun.[15]

A spacecraft mission like the proposed Whipple is designed to directly detect Oort cloud objects out to 10,000 AU and determine the outer limit of the Kuiper belt. The problem is the objects are so far too small and tiny to detect by current telescopes except during a stellar occultation.[16]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The size estimate of 500-1000km leads to an absolute magnitude (H) of 3.5-4.0, which at 103AU is apparent magnitude 24-24.5.
  2. ^ AU/yr indicates whether the object is moving inwards or outwards in its orbit, and the rate at which it does so.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Cite error: The named reference shortarc was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Most distant solar system object yet could hint at hidden planet". New Scientist. 10 November 2015.
  2. ^ "Absolute Magnitude (H)". NASA/JPL.
  3. ^ WIRED, Solar System's most distant object hints at hidden planet
  4. ^ a b Hand, E. (2015-11-10). "Astronomers spot most distant object in the solar system, could point to other rogue planets". News.ScienceMag.org. AAAS. Retrieved 2015-11-11.
  5. ^ a b c Astronomy Now Magazine - Newly discovered dwarf planet is solar system’s most distant object
  6. ^ a b c BBC News, Most distant' Solar System object spied
  7. ^ a b "JPL Small-Body Database Search Engine: q > 50 (AU)". JPL Solar System Dynamics. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  8. ^ "Minor Planet Center: q > 50 (AU)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  9. ^ "MPEC 2021-C187 : 2018 AG37". Minor Planet Electronic Circular. Minor Planet Center. 10 February 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  10. ^ Horizons output. "Barycentric Osculating Orbital Elements for 90377 Sedna (2003 VB12)". Retrieved 18 September 2021. (Solution using the Solar System barycenter. Select Ephemeris Type:Elements and Center:@0) (Saved Horizons output file 2011-Feb-04 "Barycentric Osculating Orbital Elements for 90377 Sedna". Archived from the original on 19 November 2012.) In the second pane "PR=" can be found, which gives the orbital period in days (4.160E+06, which is 11,390 Julian years).
  11. ^ Most Distant Object In Solar System Discovered; NASA.gov; (2004)
  12. ^ a b "AstDyS-2, Asteroids – Dynamic Site". Retrieved 2021-12-17. Objects with distance from Sun over 65 AU
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o JPL Horizons On-Line Ephemeris System. "JPL Horizons On-Line Ephemeris". Retrieved 2021-02-10.
    Ephemeris Type: Vector; Observer Location: @sun; Time Span: Start=2015-12-01, Stop=2021-06-01, Intervals=1; Table Settings: quantities code=6
  14. ^ a b "Voyager - Hyperbolic Orbital Elements".
  15. ^ "JPL Small-Body Database Search Engine: Q > 103 (AU)". JPL Solar System Dynamics. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  16. ^ The Whipple Mission Exploring the Oort Cloud and the Kuiper Belt - C Alcock et al.