2021 DR15 is a large trans-Neptunian object in the scattered disc, around 700 kilometres (430 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 17 February 2021, by American astronomers Scott Sheppard, David Tholen, and Chad Trujillo using the 8.2-meter Subaru Telescope of the Mauna Kea Observatories in Hawaii, and announced on 17 December 2021.[1] It was 89.4 astronomical units from the Sun when it was discovered, making it one of the most distant known Solar System objects from the Sun as of December 2021[update].[1] It has been identified in several precovery images as far back as 10 March 2005.[2]
Discovery[1] | |
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Discovered by | S. S. Sheppard D. J. Tholen C. Trujillo |
Discovery site | Mauna Kea Obs. |
Discovery date | 17 February 2021 |
Designations | |
MPC designation | 2021 DR15 |
Minor planet category | TNO[2] · SDO[3] · distant[4] |
Orbital characteristics[4] | |
Epoch 21 January 2022 (JD 2459600.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 5 | |
Observation arc | 16.74 yr (6,115 days) |
Earliest precovery date | 10 March 2005 |
Aphelion | 96.518 AU |
Perihelion | 37.824 AU |
Semi-major axis | 67.171 AU |
Eccentricity | 0.4369 |
Orbital period (sidereal) | 551 yr |
Mean anomaly | 334.122° |
Mean motion | 0° 0m 6.445s / day |
Inclination | 30.691 |
Longitude of ascending node | 334.122 |
Argument of perihelion | 21.846 |
Physical characteristics | |
Mean diameter | 800–600 km (est. 0.1–0.2)[5] |
Apparent magnitude | 23.2[1] |
Absolute magnitude (H) | 3.61±0.15[2] · 3.61[4] |
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