Discovery[1] | |
---|---|
Discovered by | Chad Trujillo, Michael Brown |
Discovery date | 2002 Jun 05 10:48:08 PDT on an image taken 2002 June 04 05:41:40 UT |
Designations | |
2002 LM60 | |
Cubewano Dwarf planet KBO Plutoid TNO[2][3] | |
Orbital characteristics[4] | |
Epoch May 18, 2008 (JD 2 454 600.5) | |
Aphelion | 6.716 275 Tm (45.286 AU) |
Perihelion | 6.270 316 Tm (41.928 AU) |
6.493 296 Tm (43.607 AU) | |
Eccentricity | 0.038 4 |
105 181.6 d (287.97 a) | |
Average orbital speed | 4.52 km/s |
284.861° | |
Inclination | 7.988° |
188.893° | |
148.508° | |
Physical characteristics | |
Dimensions | 1260 ± 190 km (direct)[5]
844+207 −190 km (thermal)[6] |
Mass | (1.0–2.6)×1021 kg |
Mean density | 2.0? g/cm³ |
Equatorial surface gravity | 0.276–0.376 m/s² |
Equatorial escape velocity | 0.523–0.712 km/s |
0.088 +0.021 −0.012 [5] 0.198 6 +0.13 −0.07 [6] | |
Temperature | ~43 K |
(moderately red) B-V=0.94, V-R=0.65 | |
2.6 | |
50000 Quaoar (symbol: ) is a Trans-Neptunian object and is also a dwarf planet. It was discovered on June 4, 2002 by Chad Trujillo and Michael Brown at the California Institute of Technology.
Quaoar has one known moon, named Weywot. It also has a ring. Unexpectedly, the ring is at twice the distance of the Roche limit, which was thought to be the maximum distance of a ring: beyond the Roche limit, the particles in a ring should clump together and form a moon; yet this has not happened to Quaoar's ring. It is thought that the particles do not clump together because of tides created by Weywot. There may also be small shepherd moons on either side of the ring, as there are at Saturn's F Ring.
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