Quaoar

Also known as 2002 LM60, 50000 Quaoar

Quaoar (minor-planet designation: 50000 Quaoar) is a ringed dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a band of icy planetesimals beyond Neptune. It has a slightly ellipsoidal shape with an average diameter of , about half the size of the dwarf planet Pluto. The object was discovered by American astronomers Chad Trujillo and Michael Brown at Palomar Observatory on 4 June 2002. Quaoar has a reddish surface made of crystalline water ice, tholins, and traces of frozen methane.

AI overview

Quaoar is a ringed dwarf planet located in the Kuiper Belt beyond Neptune, discovered in 2002 by American astronomers Chad Trujillo and Michael Brown. At roughly half the size of Pluto with a reddish, icy surface, Quaoar helps scientists understand the composition and characteristics of distant icy bodies in our solar system's outer regions.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Planet.minorplanet: yes
Planet.name: Quaoar
Planet.symbol: 24px|🝾 (mostly astrological)
Planet.background: Lavender
Planet.image: quaoar-weywot_hst.jpg
Planet.caption: Low-resolution Hubble Space Telescope image of Quaoar and its moon Weywot, February 2006
Planet.discovery_site: Palomar Observatory
Planet.discovered: 4 June 2002
Planet.mpc_name: (50000) Quaoar
Planet.alt_names: (provisional designation)
Planet.pronounced: ,
Planet.named_after: Qua-o-ar / Kwawar(deity of the Tongva people)
Planet.adjective: Quaoarian
Planet.epoch: 31 May 2020 (JD 2459000.5)
Planet.uncertainty: 3
Planet.observation_arc: 65.27 yr (23,839 d)
Planet.earliest_precovery_date: 25 May 1954
Planet.aphelion: 45.488 AU ()

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Diameter: 1090
Radius: 545
Mass: 0.0002
Orbital period: 285.8035431
Image: Quaoar-weywot hst.jpg

Show 21 more facts

orbital eccentricity: 0.0402886440
Commons category: 50000 Quaoar
provisional designation: 2002 LM60
time of discovery or invention: 2002-06-04
Commons gallery: 50000 Quaoar
orbital inclination: 7.99130083038
semi-major axis of an orbit: 43.38833028
longitude of ascending node: 189.101268062
apparent magnitude: 19.0
absolute magnitude: 2.42
mean anomaly: 294.42977977
argument of periapsis: 157.68941502
periapsis: 41.64027329
apoapsis: 45.13638728
color index: 1.28
albedo: 0.124
Unicode character: 🝾
temperature: 44
angular diameter: 40.4
IPA transcription: ˈkwɑː.oʊ.ɑːr
rotation period: 17.752

Sources (6)

via Wikidata · CC0

~25 min read

Article

19 sections

Contents

History
Discovery
Name and symbol
Orbit and classification
Physical characteristics
Size and shape
Mass and density
Surface
Possible atmosphere
Satellites
Weywot
Second moon
Rings
Discovery
Properties
Exploration
Notes
References
External links

Quaoar has two thin rings orbiting outside its Roche limit, which defies theoretical expectations that rings outside the Roche limit should be unstable. Quaoar has one moon named Weywot and another unnamed moon that has not yet been confirmed. It is believed that Quaoar's elongated shape, gravitational influence of its moons, and extremely cold temperature help keep its rings stable.