2011 KW48
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovery date | May 2011 |
| Designations | |
| VNH0004 | |
| Orbital characteristics[1][2] | |
|
Epoch 8 June 2011 (JD 2455720.5) (2011-05-29) | |
| Aphelion | 42.676 AU (6.3842 Tm) |
| Perihelion | 32.368 AU (4.8422 Tm) |
| 37.522 AU (5.6132 Tm) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.13736 |
| 229.84 yr (83949.94 d) | |
| 347.91° | |
| 0.0042883°/day | |
| Inclination | 3.6328° |
| 246.15° | |
| 46.931° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 100 ± 50 km |
| ~23.5 | |
| 8.8 | |
|
| |
2011 KW48 (also labeled VNH0004) is a Kuiper belt object. In January 2015, the New Horizons probe traveled about 75 million km (47 million miles) (0.5 AU) from it,[3] which is too far to take high-resolution photos of the object itself, but allowed the detection of possible satellites. If 2011 KW48 were 100 kilometers wide, it would appear approximately 0.11 arcseconds wide to New Horizons.
2011 KW48 was only observed 12 times by the Mauna Kea (8) and Las Campanas Observatory (4) over a period of about 33.8 days between May 29 and July 2, 2011, so its current orbit is extremely uncertain. Between January 4–15, 2015, New Horizons actively observed the object.[4]
References
- ↑ "Orbit Fit and Astrometric record for VNH0004". Southwest Research Institute. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
- ↑ "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2011 KW48)". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
- ↑ "New Horizons to Encounter KBO Ahead of Pluto Flyby". AmericaSpace.
- ↑ Gebhardt, Chris (January 19, 2015). "New Horizons begins Pluto observations ahead of July flyby". Nasaspaceflight.com. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
External links
- 2011 KW48 at the JPL Small-Body Database
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