uo3L91

uo3L91

The orbits of uo3L91 (left; light blue) and other detached objects, along with the hypothetical Planet Nine's orbit (right; dotted red)
Discovery
Discovery site	CFHT[1]
Discovery date	September 2013[1]
Detection method	OSSOS survey[1]
Designations
Minor planet category	Detached object
Orbital characteristics
Aphelion	1,430 AU (214 billion km)[2]
Perihelion	50 AU (7.5 billion km)[2]
Semi-major axis	740 AU (111 billion km)[n 1]
Eccentricity	0.93[n 1]
Orbital period	>20,000 years[2]
Inclination	Low

uo3L91 is a Kuiper belt object (KBO) discovered by the Outer Solar System Origins Survey using the Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope in September 2013. This object orbits the Sun between 50 and 1,430 AU (7.5 and 213.9 billion km), and has an orbital period of more than 20,000 years.^[1][2] It has one of the largest semi-major axes yet detected for an orbit, with a perihelion beyond the zone of strong influence of Neptune (q > 38), exceeding the semi-major axes of Sedna, 2012 VP113 and 2010 GB174.^[3]

According to astronomers Mike Brown and Konstantin Batygin, the discovery of uo3L91 provides additional evidence for the existence of Planet Nine, but Michele Bannister, one of the astronomers who reported the discovery of this object, counters that L91 travels an orbit that is almost within the plane of the Solar System, rather than being tilted at high angles, as might be expected if it were being battered around by a Planet Nine.^[1][4]

See also

• List of Solar System objects most distant from the Sun in 2015

Notes

1. Calculations for these figures: semi-major axis ($a$) = ${\frac {r_{\mathrm {per} }+r_{\mathrm {ap} }}{2}}$; Orbital eccentricity ($e$) = ${\displaystyle 1-{\frac {r_{\mathrm {per} }}{a}}}$

References

1. Witze, Alexandra (18 October 2016). "Astronomers spot distant world in Solar System's far reaches". Nature. doi:10.1038/nature.2016.20831.
2. Mann, Adam (17 October 2016). "New icy world with 20,000-year orbit could point to Planet Nine". Science. doi:10.1126/science.aal0270.
3. "Objects with q > 38 & a > 250". Minor Planet Center. International Astronomical Union. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
4. Brown, Mike (24 March 2016). "the new one is uo3L91...". Twitter.com.

External links

• OSSOS survey at the Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope
• Abstract: "A new high-perihelion a ~ 700 AU object in the distant Solar System"