The First Retrograde Transneptunian Object

Details The First Retrograde Transneptunian Object The First Retrograde Transneptunian Object

Sep 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008dps....40.3805g&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #40, #38.05; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 40, p.464

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

We report the discovery of the first trans-neptunian object known to be on a retrograde heliocentric orbit. The object , with internal survey designation HL8n1 and Minor Planet Center provisional designation 2008 KV32, was discovered at CFHT on May 31/2008 and tracked through July 8/2008 using the MMT 6.5-m, the CTIO-Blanco 4-m, and the Gemini-South 8-m telescopes. Given all current astrometry, three different orbital fitting methods confirm that the object is retrograde (i=103.6 +/- 0.2 degrees) and the that semimajor axis is roughly 45 AU (with 40 - 60 AU still being allowed). The object appears to have a perihelion distance near 20 AU, and orbital integrations indicate dynamical lifetimes of order 300 Myr. Production of such an orbit from known mechanisms and sources is unlikely; the spectrum of possibilities will be discussed given the orbital information available.

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