2014 UZ₂₂₄

2014 UZ₂₂₄ is a trans-Neptunian object and possibly a dwarf planet orbiting in the scattered disc of the outermost Solar System. As of 2021, it is approximately 89.7 AU (13.42 billion km) from the Sun, and will slowly decrease in distance until it reaches its perihelion of 38 AU in 2142. The discoverers have nicknamed it "DeeDee" for "Distant Dwarf".[7][8]

2014 UZ₂₂₄

2014 UZ224 imaged by ALMA
Discovery [1]
Discovered by	David Gerdes et al.
Discovery site	Cerro Tololo Obs.
Discovery date	19 August 2014
Designations
MPC designation	2014 UZ224
Alternative designations	DeeDee (nickname)
Minor planet category	TNO [2] · SDO [3] p-DP [4]
Orbital characteristics [2]
Epoch 31 May 2020 (JD 2459000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 5
Observation arc	12.08 yr (4,414 days)
Earliest precovery date	15 October 2006[5]
Aphelion	176.988±0.453 AU
Perihelion	38.295±0.029 AU
Semi-major axis	107.642±0.275 AU
Eccentricity	0.64423
Orbital period	1116.81±4.28 yr (407,913 days)
Mean anomaly	320.482±0.210°
Mean motion	0° 0^m 3.177^s / day
Inclination	26.790°
Longitude of ascending node	130.699±0.004°
Time of perihelion	≈ 27 May 2142[6] ±67 days
Argument of perihelion	29.989±0.063°
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter	635+65 −72 km[3]
Geometric albedo	0.131+0.038 −0.028[3]
Spectral type	G–R = 0.77±0.11[3]
Apparent magnitude	23.38±0.05[3]
Absolute magnitude (H)	3.5[3] · 3.4[2]

2014 UZ₂₂₄ was discovered by a team led by David Gerdes using data collected by the large camera Dark Energy Camera (DECam).[9][10] It has a diameter of ~635 km (395 mi) and reflects just 13 percent of the sunlight that hits it on its approximately 1,100 year orbit around the Sun.[3][2] Since the numbering of (532037) 2013 FY27 in May 2019, 2014 UZ₂₂₄ may be the largest unnumbered object in the Solar System.[4] The earliest known precovery observations of 2014 UZ₂₂₄ were taken at the Mauna Kea Observatory on 15 October 2006.[5]

See also

• List of Solar System objects by greatest aphelion

References

1. "MPEC MPEC 2016-T104 : 2014 UZ224". IAU Minor Planet Center. 11 October 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2016. (K14UM4Z)
2. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2014 UZ224)" (last observation: 2018-11-15; arc: 4.24 years). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
3. Gerdes, D. W.; Sako, M.; Hamilton, S.; Zhang, K.; Khain, T.; Becker, J. C.; et al. (April 2017). "Discovery and Physical Characterization of a Large Scattered Disk Object at 92 AU". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 839 (1): 7. arXiv:1702.00731. Bibcode:2017ApJ...839L..15G. doi:10.3847/2041-8213/aa64d8. S2CID 35694455.
4. Brown, M. (20 May 2019), How many dwarf planets are there in the outer solar system?, retrieved 1 June 2019
5. "2014 UZ224". Minor Planet Center. International Astronomical Union. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
6. JPL Horizons Observer Location: @sun (Perihelion occurs when deldot changes from negative to positive. Uncertainty in time of perihelion is 3-sigma.)
7. "Soon you won't care about a newly discovered dwarf planet". Wired. 18 October 2016.
8. "New dwarf planet solar system's 2nd most distant". Umich.edu.
9. Cofield, Calla. "New Dwarf Planet Found in Our Solar System". Scientific American. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
10. "A Friend for Pluto: Astronomers Find New Dwarf Planet in Our Solar System".

External links

• 2014 UZ224 ("DeeDee") Fact Sheet
• 2014 UZ224 at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
• 2014 UZ224 at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit diagram · Orbital elements · Physical parameters