2014 UZ224
2014 UZ224 imaged by ALMA
Discovery[1]
Discovered byDavid Gerdes et al.
Discovery siteCerro Tololo Obs.
Discovery date19 August 2014
Designations
2014 UZ224
DeeDee (nickname)
TNO[2] · SDO[3]
p-DP[4]
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch 31 May 2020 (JD 2459000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 5 · 6[5]
Observation arc12.08 yr (4,414 days)
Earliest precovery date15 October 2006[5]
Aphelion176.988±0.453 AU
Perihelion38.295±0.029 AU
107.642±0.275 AU
Eccentricity0.64423
1116.81±4.28 yr (407,913 days)
320.482±0.210°
0° 0m 3.177s / day
Inclination26.790°
130.699±0.004°
≈ 27 May 2142[6]
±67 days
29.989±0.063°
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter
635+65
−72 km[3]
0.131+0.038
−0.028[3]
G–R = 0.77±0.11[3]
23.38±0.05[3]
3.5[3] · 3.4[2]

2014 UZ224 is a trans-Neptunian object and possible dwarf planet orbiting in the scattered disc of the outermost Solar System. As of 2021, it is approximately 89.7 AU (13.42 billion km) from the Sun, and will slowly decrease in distance until it reaches its perihelion of 38 AU in 2142. The discoverers have nicknamed it "DeeDee" for "Distant Dwarf".[7][8]

2014 UZ224 was discovered by a team led by David Gerdes using data collected by the large camera Dark Energy Camera (DECam).[9][10] It has a diameter of ~635 km (395 mi) and reflects just 13 percent of the sunlight that hits it.[3][2] Since the numbering of (532037) 2013 FY27 in May 2019, 2014 UZ224 may be the largest unnumbered object in the Solar System (though see 2012 VP113).[4] The earliest known precovery observations of 2014 UZ224 were taken at the Mauna Kea Observatory on 15 October 2006.[5]

Orbit

It orbits the Sun once every approximately 1,100 years and is the second farthest object from the Sun with a stable orbit. Its perihelion is almost as close as Pluto’s aphelion and will reach it on the 22nd of May in 2142.

Numbering and naming

As of 2024, this minor planet has neither been numbered nor named by the Minor Planet Center.

See also

References

  1. ^ "MPEC MPEC 2016-T104 : 2014 UZ224". IAU Minor Planet Center. 11 October 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2016. (K14UM4Z)
  2. ^ a b c d "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2014 UZ224)" (last observation: 2018-11-15; arc: 4.24 years). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Gerdes, D. W.; Sako, M.; Hamilton, S.; Zhang, K.; Khain, T.; Becker, J. C.; et al. (April 2017). "Discovery and Physical Characterization of a Large Scattered Disk Object at 92 AU". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 839 (1): 7. arXiv:1702.00731. Bibcode:2017ApJ...839L..15G. doi:10.3847/2041-8213/aa64d8. S2CID 35694455.
  4. ^ a b Brown, M. (20 May 2019), How many dwarf planets are there in the outer solar system?, retrieved 1 June 2019
  5. ^ a b c "2014 UZ224". Minor Planet Center. International Astronomical Union. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  6. ^ JPL Horizons Observer Location: @sun (Perihelion occurs when deldot changes from negative to positive. Uncertainty in time of perihelion is 3-sigma.)
  7. ^ "Soon you won't care about a newly discovered dwarf planet". Wired. 18 October 2016.
  8. ^ "New dwarf planet solar system's 2nd most distant". Umich.edu.
  9. ^ Cofield, Calla. "New Dwarf Planet Found in Our Solar System". Scientific American. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
  10. ^ "A Friend for Pluto: Astronomers Find New Dwarf Planet in Our Solar System". NPR.org.

External links

Trans-Neptunian objects
Small Solar System bodies
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