|
Caltech astronomers Chad Trujillo and Michael E. Brown have announced the discovery of a large, planet-sized object beyond Pluto in the distant Kuiper Belt — a region of icy bodies lying in the plane of the Solar System. Trujillo and Brown have named the object Quaoar, after the creation myth of the Tongva people who were the original inhabitants of the Los Angeles area. Quaoar is 1,200 km in diameter and is the largest object to be discovered in the Solar System for 72 years since the discovery of Pluto.
Quaoar is smaller than Pluto, at about the same size as Pluto’s satellite Charon, and is unlikely to earn planet status. Even its name is also in question since it awaits confirmation by the International Astronomical Union and its current designation is simply 2002 LM60. It is, however, the largest known Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) and has a mass larger than all the known asteroids put together. Although the existence of the Kuiper Belt had been suspected for a long time, the first KBO was only discovered a decade ago. Ironically Quaoar has now been discovered on photographic plates dating back to 1983 and could have been discovered 20 years ago. It’s discovery is likely to fuel the discussion over whether Pluto should be designated a KBO rather than a planet.
2002 LM60 orbits at 6.7 billion km from the Sun beyond the orbit of Pluto and is one of around 100 million KBOs. These are thought to be the icy debris leftover from the formation of our Solar System that failed to be swept up into a giant planet due to their great distance from the Sun. Occasionally KBOs are thought to be disturbed by the giant planets or even passing stars and to enter the inner Solar System. Here they break up into a host of smaller objects that become comets. Quaoar, however, shows no sign of becoming one of these giant comets.
More info: Sky and Telescope Article
Related News
Kuiper Belt Probe Endorsed
Comets Break in the Dark
Kuiper Belt Moons a Puzzle
|
