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(119070) 2001 KP77

(119070) 2001 KP77 (provisional designation 2001 KP77) is a resonant trans-Neptunian object in the Kuiper belt, a circumstellar disc located in the outermost region of the Solar System. It was discovered on 23 May 2001, by American astronomer Marc Buie at the Cerro Tololo Observatory in Chile.[2] The object is locked in a 4:7 orbital resonance with Neptune. It has a red surface color and measures approximately 176 kilometers (110 miles) in diameter. As of 2021, it has not been named.

(119070) 2001 KP77
Discovery[1][2]
Discovered byM. W. Buie
Discovery siteCerro Tololo Obs.
Discovery date23 May 2001
Designations
(119070) 2001 KP77
2001 KP77
TNO[3] · res (4:7)[4][5]
Orbital characteristics[3]
Epoch 1 July 2021 (JD 2459396.5)
Uncertainty parameter 3[2] · 4[3]
Observation arc3.97 yr (1,449 d)
Aphelion51.855 AU
Perihelion36.095 AU
43.975 AU
Eccentricity0.1792
291.62 yr (106,514 d)
23.170°
0° 0m 12.24s / day
Inclination3.3179°
22.164°
219.65°
Physical characteristics
176 km (est. at 0.09)[4]
B–R = 1.720±0.319[6][7]
22.8[8]
7.0[2][3]

Discovery

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2001 KP77 was first observed near its perihelion on 23 May 2001, using the 4-meter Blanco Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. During the same night, 2001 KN77, 2001 KO77, 2001 KQ77 were also discovered. Besides Marc Buie, who is solely credited with the discovery of this object, the Minor Planet Electronic Circular also mentions James Elliot, Lawrence Wasserman, Robert Millis and Susan Kern as observers and measurers, respectively. Follow-up observations with the 6.5-meter Baade Telescope (Magellan) at the Las Campanas Observatory were made three weeks later. The body's observation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Cerro Tololo on 23 May 2001.[1][2]

Orbit and classification

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This minor planet orbits the Sun at a distance of 36.1–51.9 AU once every 291 years and 7 months (106,514 days; semi-major axis of 43.98 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.18 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic.[3] The object came to perihelion in 2002.[3] As of 2021, it is 37.0 AU from the Sun and has an apparent magnitude of 22.8.[8]

2001 KP77 is a resonant trans-Neptunian object that stays in a 4:7 mean-motion orbital resonance with Neptune, orbiting exactly four times the Sun for every seven orbits Neptune does.[4] The classification is deemed secure.[5] The 4:7 resonance is located at 43.7 AU in the midst of the classical objects of the Kuiper belt, a circumstellar disc of typically non-resonant bodies, contrary to the more prominent resonant plutinos (2:3) and twotinos (1:2) which form the inner and outer rim of the Kuiper belt, respectively.

Numbering and naming

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This minor planet was numbered by the Minor Planet Center on 16 November 2005, receiving the number (119070) in the minor planet catalog (M.P.C. 55533).[9] As of 2021, it has not been named.[2] According to the established naming conventions, it will be given a mythological name associated with the underworld or with creation.[10]

Physical characteristics

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This object has a red surface color, with a high B−R color index of 1.720±0.319 in the visible part of the spectrum.[6][7]: 9  A red surface color is typically associated with the presence of tholins, polymer-like organic compounds, formed by long exposures to solar and cosmic radiation. A higher B−R magnitude of 1.980±0.229 including B−V and V−R color indices of 1.544 and 0.574, respectively, were previously published in 2004.[4][11]

Based on a generic magnitude-to-diameter conversion, 2001 KP77 measures approximately 176 kilometers (110 miles) in diameter, for an assumed albedo of 0.9 and an magnitude of 7.0.[4][12] According to Mike Brown, who estimates a mean diameter of 113 km (70 mi), the object is too small for being considered a dwarf planet candidate ("probably not").[13] As of 2021, no rotational lightcurve for this body has been obtained from photometric observations. Its rotation period, pole and shape, as well as its composition remain unknown.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b "MPEC 2002-B13 : 2001 KN77, 2001 KO77, 2001 KP77, 2001 KQ77". Minor Planet Electronic Circular. Minor Planet Center. 19 January 2002. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "119070 (2001 KP77)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 119070 (2001 KP77)" (2005-05-11 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e "List of Known Trans-Neptunian Objects". Johnston's Archive. 18 August 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Orbit Fit and Astrometric record for 119070". Southwest Research Institute. Retrieved 11 September 2021. (The Deep Ecliptic Survey Object Classifications)
  6. ^ a b "LCDB Data for (119070)". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  7. ^ a b Peixinho, N.; Delsanti, A.; Guilbert-Lepoutre, A.; Gafeira, R.; Lacerda, P. (October 2012). "The bimodal colors of Centaurs and small Kuiper belt objects". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 546: 12. arXiv:1206.3153. Bibcode:2012A&A...546A..86P. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201219057. S2CID 55876118.
  8. ^ a b "Asteroid (119070) 2001 KP77 – Ephemerides". AstDyS-2, Asteroids – Dynamic Site. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  9. ^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  10. ^ "Naming of Astronomical Objects – Minor planets". IAU – International Astronomical Union. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  11. ^ "Asteroid (119070) 2001 KP77 – TNO and Centaur Colors V10.0". Small Bodies Data Ferret. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  12. ^ "Asteroid Size Estimator". CNEOS NASA/JPL. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  13. ^ Brown, Michael E. "How many dwarf planets are there in the outer solar system?". California Institute of Technology. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
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