The First Retrograde Transneptunian Object - Archive ouverte HAL
Article Dans Une Revue Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society Année : 2008

The First Retrograde Transneptunian Object

Résumé

We report the discovery of the first trans-neptunian object known to be on a retrograde heliocentric orbit. The object , with internal survey designation HL8n1 and Minor Planet Center provisional designation 2008 KV32, was discovered at CFHT on May 31/2008 and tracked through July 8/2008 using the MMT 6.5-m, the CTIO-Blanco 4-m, and the Gemini-South 8-m telescopes. Given all current astrometry, three different orbital fitting methods confirm that the object is retrograde (i=103.6 +/- 0.2 degrees) and the that semimajor axis is roughly 45 AU (with 40 - 60 AU still being allowed). The object appears to have a perihelion distance near 20 AU, and orbital integrations indicate dynamical lifetimes of order 300 Myr. Production of such an orbit from known mechanisms and sources is unlikely; the spectrum of possibilities will be discussed given the orbital information available.
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Dates et versions

hal-00362579 , version 1 (18-02-2009)

Identifiants

  • HAL Id : hal-00362579 , version 1

Citer

Brett J Gladman, J. J. Kavelaars, Jean-Marc C. Petit, Michael Ashby, J. Parker, et al.. The First Retrograde Transneptunian Object. Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 2008, 40, pp.38.05. ⟨hal-00362579⟩
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