2012 VP113
![]() Discovery images taken on November 5, 2012. A merger of three discovery images, the red, green and blue dots on the image represent 2012 VP113's location on each of the images, taken two hours apart from each other. | |
Discovery[1] | |
---|---|
Discovered by | Scott Sheppard Chad Trujillo Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (807) |
Discovery date | 5 November 2012 announced: 26 March 2014 |
Designations | |
Designation | 2012 VP113 |
TNO | |
Orbital characteristics[2] | |
Epoch 2014-May-23 2456800.5 JD | |
Aphelion | 449 ± 14 AU (Q) |
Perihelion | 80.5 ± 0.6 AU (q) |
264 ± 8.3 AU (a) | |
Eccentricity | 0.696 ± 0.011 |
4313 ± 204 yr | |
2.93±0.18 | |
Inclination | 24.017°±0.006° |
90.88°±0.015° | |
294.0°±2.7° | |
Physical characteristics | |
Dimensions | 300–1000 km[3] 450 km (assumed)[3][4] 586 km[5] |
Albedo | 0.15 (Nature; 2014)[4] 0.1 (Brown website)[5] |
Spectral type | (moderately red) V−R = 0.52 ± 0.04[4] B−V = 0.92 |
23.4 | |
4.0 (MPC)[6] 4.1 (JPL)[2] 4.4[5] | |
2012 VP113, also written 2012 VP113, is a detached trans-Neptunian object.[7] Its discovery was announced on 26 March 2014.[4][8] It has an absolute magnitude (H) of 4.0,[6] which makes it likely to be a dwarf planet.[5] It is expected to be about half the size of Sedna and similar in size to Huya.[3] It has been dubbed "VP" or "Biden" by the discovery team, after Joe Biden, the vice president (VP) of the United States at the time of discovery[8] (though the International Astronomical Union forbids the naming of celestial objects after a politician until 100 years after the death of that individual).[9]
Its surface is believed to have a pink tinge, resulting from chemical changes produced by the effect of radiation on frozen water, methane, and carbon dioxide.[10] This optical color is consistent with formation in the gas-giant region and not the classical Kuiper belt, which is dominated by ultra-red colored objects.[4]
Discovery
2012 VP113 was first observed on 5 November 2012[1] with NOAO's 4-meter Víctor M. Blanco Telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory.[11] Carnegie’s 6.5-meter Magellan telescope at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile was used to determine its orbit and surface properties.[11] Before being announced to the public, it was only tracked by Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (807) and Las Campanas Observatory (304).[6] It has an observation arc of about 2 years.[2] Two precovery measurements from 22 October 2011 have been reported.[6]
Orbit
2012 VP113 has the largest perihelion distance of any known object in the Solar System.[12] Its last perihelion was around 1979,[a] at a distance of 80 AU;[2] it is currently 83 AU from the Sun. Only four other Solar System objects are known to have perihelia larger than 47 AU: 90377 Sedna (76 AU), 2004 XR190 (51 AU), 2010 GB174 (48 AU), and 2004 VN112 (47 AU).[12] The paucity of bodies with perihelia in the 50–75 AU range appears not to be an observational artifact.[4]
It is possibly a member of a hypothesized inner Oort cloud.[13][11][3] It has a perihelion, argument of perihelion and current position in the sky similar to those of Sedna.[3] In fact, all known Solar System bodies with semi-major axes over 150 AU and perihelia greater than Neptune's have arguments of perihelion clustered near 340°.[4] This could indicate a similar formation mechanism for these bodies.[4]
It is currently unknown how 2012 VP113 acquired a perihelion distance beyond the Kuiper belt. The characteristics of its orbit, like those of Sedna's, have been explained as possibly created by a passing star or a trans-Neptunian planet of several Earth masses hundreds of astronomical units from the Sun.[14] 2012 VP113 could even be a captured exoplanet.[15] However, it is considered more likely that 2012 VP113's perihelion was raised by multiple interactions within the crowded confines of the open star cluster in which the Sun formed.[3]
Notes
- ^ The uncertainty in the year of perihelion passage is ~4 years using JPL solution 2.[2]
References
- ^ a b "MPEC 2014-F40 : 2012 VP113". IAU Minor Planet Center. 2014-03-26. Retrieved 2014-03-26. (K12VB3P)
- ^ a b c d e "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2012 VP113)" (last observation: 2013-10-30 (arc=~2 year)). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
- ^ a b c d e f Lakdawalla, Emily (2014-03-26). "A second Sedna! What does it mean?". Planetary Society blogs. The Planetary Society. Retrieved 2014-03-27.
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- ^ a b c d e f g h Attention: This template ({{cite doi}}) is deprecated. To cite the publication identified by doi:10.1038/nature13156, please use {{cite journal}} (if it was published in a bona fide academic journal, otherwise {{cite report}} with
|doi=10.1038/nature13156
instead. - ^ a b c d Michael E. Brown. "How many dwarf planets are there in the outer solar system? (updates daily)". California Institute of Technology. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
- ^ a b c d "2012 VP113 Orbit" (arc=739 days). IAU Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 2014-03-26.
- ^ Chang, Kenneth (26 March 2014). "A New Planetoid Reported in Far Reaches of Solar System". New York Times. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
- ^ a b Attention: This template ({{cite doi}}) is deprecated. To cite the publication identified by doi:10.1038/nature.2014.14921, please use {{cite journal}} (if it was published in a bona fide academic journal, otherwise {{cite report}} with
|doi=10.1038/nature.2014.14921
instead. - ^ "Naming Astronomical Objects". International Astronomical Union. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
- ^ Sample, Ian (26 March 2014). "Dwarf planet discovery hints at a hidden Super Earth in solar system". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
- ^ a b c "NASA Supported Research Helps Redefine Solar System's Edge". NASA. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
- ^ a b "JPL Small-Body Database Search Engine: q > 47 (AU)". JPL Solar System Dynamics. Retrieved 2014-03-26.
- ^ Wall, Mike (2014-03-26). "New Dwarf Planet Found at Solar System's Edge, Hints at Possible Faraway 'Planet X'". Space.com web site. TechMediaNetwork. Retrieved 2014-03-27.
- ^ "A new object at the edge of our Solar System discovered". Physorg.com. 26 March 2014.
- ^ Scott S. Sheppard. "Beyond the Edge of the Solar System: The Inner Oort Cloud Population". Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution for Science. Retrieved 2014-03-27.
External links
- Orbital simulation from JPL (Java) / Horizons Ephemeris
- 2012 VP113 Inner Oort Cloud Object Discovery Images from Scott S. Sheppard/Carnegie Institution for Science.
- 2012 VP113 has Q=460 +/- 30 (mpml: CFHT 2011-Oct-22 precovery)