(15874) 1996 TL66
Encyclopedia
is a trans-Neptunian object
(TNO) that resides in the scattered disc
. The Spitzer Space Telescope
has estimated this object to be about 575 km in diameter, which makes it a dwarf-planet candidate. It is not a detached object since its perihelion
(closest approach to the Sun) is under the influence of Neptune
. Light-curve-amplitude analysis suggests it is a spheroid and hence a dwarf planet.
et al., it was the first object to be categorized as a scattered-disk object (SDO), although , discovered a year earlier, was later recognised as a scattered-disk object. It was one of the largest known trans-Neptunian objects at the time of the discovery. It came to perihelion
in 2001.
with a semi-major axis
of 83.9 AU
, but is currently only 35 AU from the Sun with an apparent magnitude
of 21. The Spitzer Space Telescope
has estimated it to have a low albedo with a diameter of about 575 ± 115 km. Any icy body with a diameter greater than 400 km is probably spherical. Light-curve-amplitude analysis shows only small deviations, suggesting is a spheroid with small albedo spots and hence a dwarf planet.
Trans-Neptunian object
A trans-Neptunian object is any minor planet in the Solar System that orbits the Sun at a greater distance on average than Neptune.The first trans-Neptunian object to be discovered was Pluto in 1930...
(TNO) that resides in the scattered disc
Scattered disc
The scattered disc is a distant region of the Solar System that is sparsely populated by icy minor planets, a subset of the broader family of trans-Neptunian objects. The scattered-disc objects have orbital eccentricities ranging as high as 0.8, inclinations as high as 40°, and perihelia greater...
. The Spitzer Space Telescope
Spitzer Space Telescope
The Spitzer Space Telescope , formerly the Space Infrared Telescope Facility is an infrared space observatory launched in 2003...
has estimated this object to be about 575 km in diameter, which makes it a dwarf-planet candidate. It is not a detached object since its perihelion
Apsis
An apsis , plural apsides , is the point of greatest or least distance of a body from one of the foci of its elliptical orbit. In modern celestial mechanics this focus is also the center of attraction, which is usually the center of mass of the system...
(closest approach to the Sun) is under the influence of Neptune
Neptune
Neptune is the eighth and farthest planet from the Sun in the Solar System. Named for the Roman god of the sea, it is the fourth-largest planet by diameter and the third largest by mass. Neptune is 17 times the mass of Earth and is slightly more massive than its near-twin Uranus, which is 15 times...
. Light-curve-amplitude analysis suggests it is a spheroid and hence a dwarf planet.
Discovery
Discovered in 1996 by David C. JewittDavid C. Jewitt
David C. Jewitt is a professor of astronomy formerly at the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy, now at UCLA. He was born in 1958 in England, and is a 1979 graduate of the University of London. Jewitt received an M.Sc. and a Ph.D. in astronomy at the California Institute of Technology in...
et al., it was the first object to be categorized as a scattered-disk object (SDO), although , discovered a year earlier, was later recognised as a scattered-disk object. It was one of the largest known trans-Neptunian objects at the time of the discovery. It came to perihelion
Apsis
An apsis , plural apsides , is the point of greatest or least distance of a body from one of the foci of its elliptical orbit. In modern celestial mechanics this focus is also the center of attraction, which is usually the center of mass of the system...
in 2001.
Orbit and size
orbits the SunSun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
with a semi-major axis
Semi-major axis
The major axis of an ellipse is its longest diameter, a line that runs through the centre and both foci, its ends being at the widest points of the shape...
of 83.9 AU
Astronomical unit
An astronomical unit is a unit of length equal to about or approximately the mean Earth–Sun distance....
, but is currently only 35 AU from the Sun with an apparent magnitude
Apparent magnitude
The apparent magnitude of a celestial body is a measure of its brightness as seen by an observer on Earth, adjusted to the value it would have in the absence of the atmosphere...
of 21. The Spitzer Space Telescope
Spitzer Space Telescope
The Spitzer Space Telescope , formerly the Space Infrared Telescope Facility is an infrared space observatory launched in 2003...
has estimated it to have a low albedo with a diameter of about 575 ± 115 km. Any icy body with a diameter greater than 400 km is probably spherical. Light-curve-amplitude analysis shows only small deviations, suggesting is a spheroid with small albedo spots and hence a dwarf planet.
External links
- Orbital simulation from JPL (Java) / Horizons Ephemeris
- : A New Type of Transneptunian Object – MPC news release
- , a Newly Discovered Planetesimal
- – A New Dynamical Class in the Outer Solar System – from David Jewitt's Kuiper Belt website
- Lists and Plots: Minor Planets