| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Pan-STARRS 1 |
| Discovery site | Haleakala Obs. |
| Discovery date | 1 November 2010 |
| Designations | |
| (523645) 2010 VK201 | |
| 2010 VK201 | |
| TNO[2][3] · KBO (hot)[4] · distant[1] | |
| Orbital characteristics[2] | |
| Epoch 27 April 2019 (JD 2458600.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 3 | |
| Observation arc | 7.13 yr (2,606 d) |
| Aphelion | 48.065 AU |
| Perihelion | 37.973 AU |
| 43.019 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1173 |
| 282.16 yr (103,060 d) | |
| 170.71° | |
| 0° 0m 12.6s / day | |
| Inclination | 28.845° |
| 156.40° | |
| 88.906° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
Mean diameter | 443 km (est.)[4] 501 km (est.)[5] 505 km (calc.)[6] |
| 7.59±0.05 h[7][8] | |
| 0.10 (assumed)[6] | |
| C (assumed)[6] | |
| 4.40±0.07 (SR)[7] 4.6[6] 5.0[1][2][5] | |
(523645) 2010 VK201 (provisional designation 2010 VK201) is a trans-Neptunian object and member of the classical Kuiper belt, approximately 500 kilometers (310 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 1 November 2010, by the Pan-STARRS 1 survey at Haleakala Observatory, Hawaii, United States.[1] It has a rotation period of 7.6 hours.[6] It was numbered in September 2018 and remains unnamed.
Located beyond the orbit of Neptune, 2010 VK201 is a non-resonant classical Kuiper belt object (cubewano) of the so-called hot population, which have higher inclinations than those of the cold population.[4] It orbits the Sun at a distance of 38.0–48.1 AU once every 282 years and 2 months (103,060 days; semi-major axis of 43.02 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.12 and an inclination of 29° with respect to the ecliptic.[2] The body's observation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Haleakala in November 2010.[1] 2010 VK201 has been identified as a member of the Haumea family in a dynamical study led by Proudfoot and Ragozzine in 2019.[9]
This minor planet was numbered by the Minor Planet Center on 25 September 2018 (M.P.C. 111778).[10] As of 2018, it has not been named.[1]
2010 VK201 is an assumed carbonaceous body with a relatively low albedo (see below).[6]
In 2011, a rotational lightcurve of 2010 VK201 was obtained from photometric observations in the S- and R-band by Susan Benecchi and Scott Sheppard taken with Carnegie's 2.5-meter Irénée du Pont telescope at the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 7.59±0.05 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.30 magnitude (U=2).[6][7]
According to Michael Brown and the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link, 2010 VK201 measures 501 and 505 kilometers in diameter, based on an absolute magnitude of 4.6 and 5.0, assuming an albedo of 0.07 and 0.10 for the body's surface, respectively.[4][5] The Johnston's archive estimates a smaller diameter of 443 kilometers.[6]
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