(307261) 2002 MS4 is a large classical Kuiper belt object and a possible dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a region of icy planetesimals beyond Neptune.[13] It was discovered in 2002 by Chad Trujillo and Michael Brown, and has precovery images back to 8 April 1954.[2]
As of 2021[update], 2002 MS4 is 46.4AU from the Sun.[12] It will reach perihelion, its closest point to the Sun, in 2123.[6] At 800km (500mi) in diameter, it is approximately tied with 2002 AW197 and 2013 FY27 (to within measurement uncertainties) as the largest unnamed object in the Solar System.
History
Discovery
2002 MS4 was discovered on 18 June 2002 by astronomers Chad Trujillo and Michael Brown at Palomar Observatory in San Diego County, California, United States.[1] The discovery formed part their Caltech Wide Area Sky Survey for bright Kuiper belt objects using the observatory's 1.22-meter (48in)Samuel Oschin telescope with its wide-field CCD camera, which was operated jointly with the nightly Near Earth Asteroid Tracking program at Palomar.[14]:100 This survey was responsible for the discovery of several other large, distant objects, including the dwarf planets Eris, Sedna, and Quaoar.[15]:214
2002 MS4 was found through manual vetting of potential moving objects identified by the team's automatic image-searching software.[14]:101 It was among the fainter objects detected, just below the survey's limiting magnitude with an observed brightness of magnitude 20.9.[14]:99,103 Follow-up observations were conducted two months later with Palomar Observatory's 1.52-meter (60in) telescope on 8 August 2002.[16] The discovery was announced by the Minor Planet Center on 21 November 2002 and the object was given the minor planet provisional designation of 2002 MS4.[16]
Since receiving follow-up in August 2002, 2002 MS4 remained unobserved for more than nine months until it was recovered by Trujillo at Palomar Observatory on 29 May 2003, followed by observations by Wolf Bickel at Bergisch Gladbach Observatory in Germany in June 2003.[17] These recovery observations significantly improved 2002 MS4's orbit, allowing for further extrapolation of its position backwards in time for identification in precovery observations.[18] Seven precovery observations from Digitized Sky Survey plates were identified by astronomer Andrew Lowe in 2007; the earliest of these was taken on 8 April 1954 by Siding Spring Observatory in New South Wales, Australia.[18][19]:42
As of 2022[update], 2002 MS4 has a well-determined orbit with an uncertainty parameter of 3.[2] With an observation arc of over 66 years, it has been observed throughout 24% of its orbital period.[2][1]
Numbering and naming
2002 MS4 received its permanent minor planet number of 307261 by the Minor Planet Center on 10 December 2011.[18][20]:292 As of yet, it remains unnamed; the discoverers' privilege for naming this object has expired ten years since its numbering.[1][21]:6 Per naming guidelines by the International Astronomical Union's Working Group Small Body Nomenclature, 2002 MS4 is open for name suggestions that pertain to creation myths, as required for Kuiper belt objects in general.[21]:8
Visibility
2002 MS4's position in the constellation Scutum, moving eastward across the brightest areas of the Milky Way
2002 MS4 is located near the Milky Way's Galactic Center in the southern celestial hemisphere and it has been passing through that region's dense field of background stars since its discovery.[10]:9 Combined with its faint apparent magnitude of 20.5 as seen from Earth,[12]2002 MS4 at its crowded location can make Earth-based observations difficult.[9]:92[10]:9 On the other hand, 2002 MS4's location also makes it viable for observing stellar occultations as there are numerous stars for it to pass in front of.[10]:9 Several occultation events by 2002 MS4 have been observed from Earth since 2019,[22][23] including one noteworthy event that involved an international campaign of 116 observers on 8 August 2020.[8]
Orbit and classification
The 18:11-resonant libration of 2002 MS4's nominal orbit, in a frame co-rotating with Neptune
Top and side views of 2002 MS4's orbit (white) with Pluto and other classical Kuiper belt objects for comparison
2002 MS4 orbits beyond Neptune with an orbital period of 269 years.[5][lower-alpha 1] Its semi-major axis or average orbital distance from the Sun is 41.7 astronomical units (AU), with a moderate[3]:45 orbital eccentricity of 0.15.[5] In its eccentric orbit, 2002 MS4 comes within 35.7AU from the Sun at perihelion and 47.8AU at aphelion.[5] It has an orbital inclination of nearly 18° with respect to the ecliptic.[5]2002 MS4 last passed perihelion in April 1853 and will make its next perihelion passage in June 2123.[25][6]
2002 MS4 is located in the classical region of the Kuiper belt 37–48AU from the Sun,[26]:227 and is thus classified as a classical Kuiper belt object or cubewano.[3]:53 Its high orbital inclination qualifies it as a dynamically "hot" member of the classical Kuiper belt, which implies it may have been gravitationally scattered out to its present location by Neptune early in its history.[26]:227,2292002 MS4's present orbit is far enough from Neptune (minimum orbit intersection distance 6.6AU)[1] that it no longer experiences scattering from close encounters with the planet.[4][26]:214
2002 MS4 is in an intermittent 18:11 mean-motion orbital resonance with Neptune, as shown in numerical simulations of its orbit over a 10-million-year timespan.[26]:218 This weak resonance primarily affects 2002 MS4's orbital inclination irregularly, but it may alternate to affecting its eccentricity as well.[26]:225
In 2008, the Spitzer Space Telescope estimated it to have a diameter of 726±123km and the Herschel Space Telescope estimated it to be 934±47km.[27]:173
Seven occultation events were observed from 2019 to 2021. The most successful was on 8 August 2020, involving 116 telescopes. The result was a diameter of 800±24km; the ±24-km variation is thought to be largely due to surface features.[8]
2002 MS4 has measured color indices of B−V=0.69±0.02 and V−R=0.38±0.02, which indicates that it has a neutral (gray) surface color.[11]:6 In Barucci et al.'s classification scheme for TNO color indices, 2002 MS4 falls under the BB group of TNOs with neutral colors.[29]:1294 No reflectance spectrum of 2002 MS4 has been measured as of yet, thus its surface composition remains unknown.[10]:10 Nevertheless, it can be inferred that 2002 MS4 lacks volatiles such as nitrogen and methane due to its low geometric albedo of 0.1 determined from New Horizons observations.[10]:2,18–19 This low albedo indicates that 2002 MS4 has a very dark and unevolved surface depleted in volatiles.[10]:18–19
Occultations
2002 MS4's projected shape as seen from positive detections of the 8 August 2020 occultation (blue). A topographic peak and depression is visible along 2002 MS4's limb in the northeast direction.[8]
Two stellar occultations by 2002 MS4 were observed from South America and Canada on 9 July and 26 July 2019, both yielding at least two positive detections from participating observers. A negative chord grazing the projected shape of 2002 MS4 on the 9 July event allowed for constraints on its diameter, yielding a best-fit equivalent spherical radius of 770±2km.[22] In the following month, two observers from Canada recorded another stellar occultation by 2002 MS4 on 19 August 2019. The two positive chords from the event suggested that 2002 MS4 may have an oblate shape, with projected dimensions of 842 × 688km.[30]
On 8 August 2020, a campaign organized by Lucky Star project successfully observed the occultation of a magnitude 14.6 star with 61 positive detections.[31][8] The resulting projected dimensions of 2002 MS4 were 808 × 748km, consistent with the results from the previous year.[7] Topographic features 20km (12mi) in depth and height were observed on 2002 MS4's surface.[8]
Rotation
As of 2019[update], the rotation period of 2002 MS4 is unknown. Observations in 2005 and 2011 showed possible periods of either 7.33 hours or its alias 10.44 hours (single-peaked), or twice those values for the double-peaked solution, with a small light curve amplitude of 0.05±0.01mag. Light curve observations of 2002 MS4 are difficult because of the dense field of background stars it is crossing. Observations made in June and July 2011 took advantage of 2002 MS4 moving in front of a dark nebula.[9]:118
No known moons; possible dwarf status
2002 MS4 does not have any known moons orbiting it; thus an accurate mass estimate cannot be made. Based on its size alone, Brown lists it as nearly certain to be a dwarf planet.[32] However, its low albedo may imply the opposite: dark, mid-sized bodies such as this, less than about 900–1000km in diameter and with albedos less than about 0.2 that suggest they have never been resurfaced, have likely never collapsed into solid bodies, much less differentiated or relaxed into hydrostatic equilibrium, and thus are unlikely to be dwarf planets.[33]:16
Exploration
New Horizons
2002 MS4 imaged by the New Horizons spacecraft in July 2016, from a distance of 15.3AU (2.3billionkm; 1.4billionmi)
New Horizons trajectory through the Kuiper belt, with positions of nearby KBOs including 2002 MS4 labeled
From July 2016 to September 2019, 2002 MS4 was observed by the New Horizons spacecraft, as part of its extended Kuiper belt mission.[10]:11 The observations significantly improved the knowledge of 2002 MS4's orbit and phase curve behavior from the scattering properties of its surface.[34][35]
See also
List of Solar System objects by size
Notes
These orbital elements are expressed in terms of the Solar System Barycenter (SSB) as the frame of reference.[5] Due to planetary perturbations, the Sun revolves around the SSB at non-negligible distances, so heliocentric-frame orbital elements and distances can vary in short timescales as shown in JPL-Horizons.[24]
Schilling, Govert (2008). The Hunt For Planet X. Springer. p.214. ISBN978-0-387-77804-4.
Trujillo, C. A.; Brown, M. E.; Helin, E. F.; Pravdo, S.; Lawrence, K.; Hicks, M.; Nash, C.; Jordan, A. B.; Staples, S.; Schwartz, M.; Marsden, B. G. (21 November 2002). "MPEC 2002-W27: 2002 MS4, 2002 QX47, 2002 VR128". Minor Planet Electronic Circular. Minor Planet Center. 2002-W27. Bibcode:2002MPEC....W...27T. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
"(307261) 2002 MS4, 2019 Aug 19 occultation". IOTA Asteroid Occultation Results Webpage. International Occultation Timing Association. 19 August 2019. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
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