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2012 VP113

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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 byScott Sheppard
Chad Trujillo
Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (807)
Discovery date5 November 2012
announced: 26 March 2014
Designations
Designation
2012 VP113
TNO
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch 2014-May-23
2456800.5 JD
Aphelion449 ± 14 AU (Q)
Perihelion80.5 ± 0.6 AU (q)
264 ± 8.3 AU (a)
Eccentricity0.696 ± 0.011
4313 ± 204 yr
2.93±0.18
Inclination24.017°±0.006°
90.88°±0.015°
294.0°±2.7°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions300–1000 km[3]
450 km (assumed)[3][4]
586 km[5]
Albedo0.15 (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

  1. ^ The uncertainty in the year of perihelion passage is ~4 years using JPL solution 2.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b "MPEC 2014-F40 : 2012 VP113". IAU Minor Planet Center. 2014-03-26. Retrieved 2014-03-26. (K12VB3P)
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ 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. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ a b c d "2012 VP113 Orbit" (arc=739 days). IAU Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 2014-03-26.
  7. ^ Chang, Kenneth (26 March 2014). "A New Planetoid Reported in Far Reaches of Solar System". New York Times. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ "Naming Astronomical Objects". International Astronomical Union. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  10. ^ Sample, Ian (26 March 2014). "Dwarf planet discovery hints at a hidden Super Earth in solar system". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  11. ^ a b c "NASA Supported Research Helps Redefine Solar System's Edge". NASA. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  12. ^ a b "JPL Small-Body Database Search Engine: q > 47 (AU)". JPL Solar System Dynamics. Retrieved 2014-03-26.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ "A new object at the edge of our Solar System discovered". Physorg.com. 26 March 2014.
  15. ^ 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.


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