arXiv · 1702.00731
Discovery and Physical Characterization of a Large Scattered Disk Object at 92 AU
Abstract
We report the observation and physical characterization of the possible dwarf planet \UZ\ ("DeeDee"), a dynamically detached trans-Neptunian object discovered at 92 AU. This object is currently the second-most distant known trans-Neptunian object with reported orbital elements, surpassed in distance only by the dwarf planet Eris. The object was discovered with an $r$-band magnitude of 23.0 in data collected by the Dark Energy Survey between 2014 and 2016. Its 1140-year orbit has $(a,e,i) = (109~\mathrm{AU}, 0.65, 26.8^{\circ})$. It will reach its perihelion distance of 38 AU in the year 2142. Integrations of its orbit show it to be dynamically stable on Gyr timescales, with only weak interactions with Neptune. We have performed followup observations with ALMA, using 3 hours of on-source integration time to measure the object's thermal emission in the Rayleigh-Jeans tail. The signal is detected at 7$\sigma$ significance, from which we determine a $V$-band albedo of $13.1^{+3.3}_{-2.4}\mathrm{(stat)}^{+2.0}_{-1.4}\mathrm{(sys)}$ percent and a diameter of $635^{+57}_{-61}\mathrm{(stat)}^{+32}_{-39}\mathrm{(sys)}$~km, assuming a spherical body with uniform surface properties.
Explore related subjects
Keep this discovery
David Gerdes, Masao Sako, Stephanie Hamilton, Ke Zhang, Tali Khain, Juliette Becker, James Annis, William Wester, Gary Bernstein, Colin Scheibner, Lynus Zullo, Fred Adams, Edwin Bergin, Alistair Walker, J. H. Mueller, T. Abbott, Filipe Abdalla, Sahar Allam, K. Bechtol, Aurelien Benoit-Lévy, Emmanuel Bertin, David Brooks, David Burke, A. Rosell, M. Kind, Jorge Carretero, Carlos Cunha, Luiz da Costa, S. Desai, H. Thomas Diehl, Tim Eifler, Brenna Flaugher, Joshua Frieman, J. Garc'ia-Bellido, Enrique Gaztanaga, Daniel Goldstein, Daniel Gruen, J. Gschwend, Gaston Gutierrez, Klaus Honscheid, D. James, Stephen M. Kent, E. Krause, Kyler Kuehn, Nikolay Kuropatkin, O. Lahav, T. Li, M. Maia, Marisa Cristina March, Jennifer Marshall, P. Martini, Felipe Menanteau, Ramon Miquel, Robert Nichol, Andres Plazas Malagón, A. Kathy Romer, Aaron Roodman, Eusebio Sanchez, Ignacio Sevilla-Noarbe, Mathew Smith, R. Smith, Marcelle Soares-Santos, Flavia Sobreira, E. Suchyta, M. Swanson, Gregory Tarle, Douglas Tucker, Y. Zhang. 2017-02-02. Discovery and Physical Characterization of a Large Scattered Disk Object at 92 AU. https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213%2Faa64d8
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.