(589683) 2010 RF43
Discovery[1][2]
Discovered byD. L. Rabinowitz
M. Schwamb
S. Tourtellotte
Discovery siteLa Silla Obs.
Discovery date6 September 2010
Designations
(589683) 2010 RF43
2010 RF43
TNO[3][4] · SDO[5] · distant[1]
Orbital characteristics[3]
Epoch 31 May 2020 (JD 2459000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 2
Observation arc46.17 yr (~16,860 days)
Earliest precovery date19 August 1976[1]
Aphelion61.903 AU
Perihelion37.482 AU
49.692 AU
Eccentricity0.2457
350.30 yr (127,948 d)
97.520°
0° 0m 10.08s / day
Inclination30.638°
25.320°
193.480°
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter
636 km (estimate)[6]
643 km (estimate)[7]
≈770 km (estimate)[4]
0.09 (assumed)[4]
0.10 (assumed)[6]
0.11 (assumed)[7]
3.9[3] · 4.0[7] · 4.1[6]

(589683) 2010 RF43 (provisional designation 2010 RF43) is a large trans-Neptunian object orbiting in the scattered disc in the outermost regions of the Solar System. The object was discovered on 9 September 2010, by American astronomers David Rabinowitz, Megan Schwamb and Suzanne Tourtellotte at ESO's La Silla Observatory in northern Chile.[1]

Orbit and classification

2010 RF43 orbits the Sun at a distance of 37.5–61.9 AU once every 350 years and 4 months (127,948 days; semi-major axis of 49.7 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.25 and an inclination of 31° with respect to the ecliptic.[3] The body's observation arc begins with a precovery observation taken at Siding Spring Observatory in August 1976.[1]

Due to its relatively high eccentricity and inclination, it is an object of the scattered disc rather than one of the regular Kuiper belt.[2][8] Its perihelion of 37.5 AU is also too low to make it a detached object, which typically stay above 40 AU and never come close to the orbit of Neptune.

Numbering and naming

This minor planet was numbered by the Minor Planet Center on 20 September 2021, receiving the number (589683) in the minor planet catalog (M.P.C. 135075).[9] As of 2021, it has not been named.[1]

Physical characteristics

Diameter and albedo

Based on an absolute magnitude of 3.9,[3] and an assumed albedo of 0.09, the Johnston's archive estimates a mean-diameter of approximately 770 kilometers (480 mi).[4]

The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.10 and calculates a diameter of 636 kilometers (395 mi) based on an absolute magnitude of 4.1.[6]

Rotation period

As of 2020, no rotational lightcurve of this object has been obtained from photometric observations. The object's rotation period, pole and shape remain unknown.[3][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "2010 RF43". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  2. ^ a b "List Of Centaurs and Scattered-Disk Objects". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2010 RF43)" (2020-08-19 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d Johnston, Wm. Robert (29 August 2021). "List of Known Trans-Neptunian Objects". Johnston's Archive. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  5. ^ Buie, Marc W. "Orbit Fit and Astrometric record for 10RF43". SwRI (Space Science Department). Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d e "LCDB Data for (2010+RF43)". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  7. ^ a b c Brown, Michael E. "How many dwarf planets are there in the outer solar system?". California Institute of Technology. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  8. ^ "List Of Transneptunian Objects". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  9. ^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 30 September 2021.

External links

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