(495603) 2015 AM281, provisional designation 2015 AM281, is a resonant trans-Neptunian object in the outermost region of the Solar System, guesstimated at approximately 470 kilometers (290 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 13 March 2010, by astronomers with the Pan-STARRS survey at Haleakala Observatory, Hawaii, United States.[1]
Discovery[1][2] | |
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Discovered by | Pan-STARRS 1 |
Discovery site | Haleakala Obs. |
Discovery date | 13 March 2010 |
Designations | |
MPC designation | (495603) 2015 AM281 |
Alternative designations | 2015 AM281 |
Minor planet category | TNO[3] · res 2:5[4] distant[1] |
Orbital characteristics[3] | |
Epoch 27 April 2019 (JD 2458600.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 3 · 1[1] | |
Observation arc | 17.14 yr (6,261 d) |
Aphelion | 68.916 AU |
Perihelion | 41.357 AU |
Semi-major axis | 55.137 AU |
Eccentricity | 0.2499 |
Orbital period (sidereal) | 409.42 yr (149,540 d) |
Mean anomaly | 335.33° |
Mean motion | 0° 0m 8.64s / day |
Inclination | 26.719° |
Longitude of ascending node | 22.124° |
Argument of perihelion | 158.18° |
Physical characteristics | |
Mean diameter | 468 km (est.)[4] 479 km (est.)[5] |
Geometric albedo | 0.07 (assumed)[5] 0.09 (assumed)[4] |
Absolute magnitude (H) | 4.8[1][3] |
The body's observation arc begins with a precovery taken by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey in April 2000, nearly 10 years prior to its official discovery observation at Haleakala Observatory.[1] The discovery was announced in a Minor Planet Electronic Circular in July 2016, after additional observations by Pan-STARRS had been found (2010–2013), preceding the team's original observation from 11 January 2015, which led to the assignment of the object's first and only provisional designation, 2015 AM281.[2] The observations were made with Pan-STARRS 1.8-meter Ritchey–Chrétien telescope, and B. Gibson, T. Goggia, N. Primak, A. Schultz, and M. Willman were the observers.[2]
2015 AM281 is a resonant trans-Neptunian object in a 2:5 orbital resonance with Neptune, which means that it orbits the Sun exactly twice while Neptune orbits the Sun five times.[4] Several objects in this resonance with a period of 410 years have been found, including 2002 TC302.
It orbits the Sun at a distance of 41.4–68.9 AU once every 409 years and 5 months (149,540 days; semi-major axis of 55.14 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.25 and an inclination of 27° with respect to the ecliptic.[3] It still has an orbital uncertainty of 1 and 3, respectively.[1][3]
This minor planet was numbered by the Minor Planet Center on 9 June 2017 and received the number 495603 in the minor planet catalog (M.P.C. 105261).[6] As of 2018, it has not been named.[1]
According to the Johnston's archive and American astronomer Michael Brown, 2015 AM281 measures 468 and 479 kilometers in diameter based on an assumed albedo of 0.09 and 0.07, respectively.[4][5] As of 2018, no rotational lightcurve has been obtained from photometric observations. The body's rotation period, pole and shape remain unknown.[3][7]
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