(19308) 1996 TO₆₆

(19308) 1996 TO₆₆ (also written (19308) 1996 TO66) is a trans-Neptunian object that was discovered in 1996 by Chadwick Trujillo, David Jewitt and Jane Luu. Until 20000 Varuna was discovered, it was the second-largest known object in the Kuiper belt, after Pluto.

(19308) 1996 TO₆₆

Hubble Space Telescope image of 1996 TO66 taken in 2005
Discovery
Discovered by	Chadwick Trujillo David Jewitt Jane Luu
Discovery date	12 October 1996
Designations
MPC designation	(19308) 1996 TO66
Minor planet category	Haumeid TNO intermittent 11:19 resonance? [1]
Orbital characteristics [2]
Epoch 13 January 2016 (JD 2457400.5)
Uncertainty parameter 3
Observation arc	7322 days (20.05 yr)
Aphelion	48.375 AU (7.2368 Tm)
Perihelion	37.939 AU (5.6756 Tm)
Semi-major axis	43.157 AU (6.4562 Tm)
Eccentricity	0.12090
Orbital period	283.52 yr (103,555 d)
Mean anomaly	137.16°
Mean motion	0° 0^m 12.515^s / day
Inclination	27.4948°
Longitude of ascending node	355.2889°
Argument of perihelion	239.07°
Earth MOID	37.0117 AU (5.53687 Tm)
Jupiter MOID	33.0091 AU (4.93809 Tm)
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	200 km (assuming a Haumea-like albedo of 0.7) [3] (<902km) [4]
Rotation period	7.92 h (0.330 d)
Sidereal rotation period	7.92 h [2]
Geometric albedo	0.7 (assumed)
Temperature	~ 43 K
Spectral type	Neutral B−V = 0.68, V−R = 0.39 [5] B−V = 0.74, V−R = 0.38 [6]
Absolute magnitude (H)	4.5

Origin

1996 TO₆₆ (center top) imaged by the NTT at La Silla in 1998. Other objects are elongated due to the 4-hour-exposure. The horizontal streak is from a geostationary satellite.

Based on their common pattern of IR water-ice absorptions, neutral visible spectrum[7] and the clustering of their orbital elements, the other KBOs (24835) 1995 SM55, (55636) 2002 TX300, (120178) 2003 OP32 and (145453) 2005 RR43 all appear to be collisional fragments broken off of the dwarf planet Haumea.

Orbit

The eccentricity of 1996 TO₆₆ varies between ca. 0.110 and 0.125 every 2 million years, with additional variations on the order of ± 0.01 on much shorter time scales. It is in an intermittent 19:11 resonance with Neptune. The resonance breaks every 2 million years when the eccentricity is highest and the orbit is closest to Neptune.[1]

References

1. D. Ragozzine; M. E. Brown (4 September 2007). "Candidate Members and Age Estimate of the Family of Kuiper Belt Object 2003 EL₆₁". The Astronomical Journal. 134 (6): 2160–2167. arXiv:0709.0328. Bibcode:2007AJ....134.2160R. doi:10.1086/522334.
2. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 19308 (1996 TO66)" (2003-10-18 last obs). Retrieved 5 April 2016.
3. Dan Bruton. "Conversion of Absolute Magnitude to Diameter for Minor Planets". Department of Physics & Astronomy (Stephen F. Austin State University). Archived from the original on 23 March 2010. Retrieved 27 December 2009.
4. Grundy, W. M. (2004). "Diverse albedos of small trans-neptunian objects". Icarus. 176: 22. arXiv:astro-ph/0502229. Bibcode:2005Icar..176..184G. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2005.01.007.
5. Snodgrass, Carry; Dumas, Hainaut (16 December 2009). "Characterisation of candidate members of (136108) Haumea's family". Astronomy and Astrophysics. arXiv:0912.3171. Bibcode:2010A&A...511A..72S. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/200913031.
6. Tegler, Stephen C. (1 February 2007). "Kuiper Belt Object Magnitudes and Surface Colors". Archived from the original on 1 September 2006. Retrieved 7 November 2006.
7. Pinilla-Alonso, N.; Licandro, J.; Gil-Hutton, R.; Brunetto, R. (June 2007). "The water ice rich surface of (145453) 2005 RR43: a case for a carbon-depleted population of TNOs?". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 468 (1): L25. arXiv:astro-ph/0703098. Bibcode:2007A&A...468L..25P. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20077294.

External links

• First Rotation Period of a Kuiper Belt Object Measured – ESO, 5 November 1998
• (19308) 1996 TO66 at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit diagram · Orbital elements · Physical parameters