2001 QW322

2001 QW₃₂₂

Discovery[1]
Discovered by	Mauna Kea Observatory by ?
Discovery date	24 August 2001
Designations
MPC designation	2001 QW322
Minor planet category	TNO, cubewano[2][3]
Orbital characteristics[3]
Epoch 13 January 2016 (JD 2457400.5)
Uncertainty parameter 5
Observation arc	1176 days (3.22 yr)
Aphelion	45.117 AU (6.7494 Tm)
Perihelion	42.590 AU (6.3714 Tm)
Semi-major axis	43.854 AU (6.5605 Tm)
Eccentricity	0.028818
Orbital period	290.41 yr (106074 d)
Mean anomaly	124.40°
Inclination	4.8154°
Longitude of ascending node	124.72°
Argument of perihelion	71.945°
Earth MOID	41.5917 AU (6.22203 Tm)
Jupiter MOID	37.1428 AU (5.55648 Tm)
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	180 km[1]
Absolute magnitude (H)	7.8[3]

2001 QW₃₂₂ is a binary minor planet and cubewano in the Kuiper belt. The object was discovered at Mauna Kea on July 27, 2001 by JJ Kavelaars, J.-M. Petit, B. Gladman, and M. Holman. J. Kavelaars later in 2001 discovered that it is a binary. The components are estimated at about 130 km in diameter. It has been nicknamed Antipholus and Antipholus after twins in Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors.^[4]

In 2008, work was published showing that the binary has an extraordinarily long orbital period (for a binary trans-Neptunian object, asteroid or minor planet) of some 25–30 years.^[5] The orbital radius is also remarkably high (105,000 to 135,000 km) while the eccentricity is unusually low (< 0.4). All of these parameters are in the extremes of their normal ranges for such objects. The wide spacing and low eccentricity conspire to make the system prone to disruption, and its lifetime is estimated to be in the order of another billion years.

References

1. "Asteroids with Satellites Database-2001 QW322". Johnston's Archive. 20 September 2014. Retrieved 2015-09-22.
2. Wm. Robert Johnston (August 22, 2008). "List of Known Trans-Neptunian Objects". Johnston's Archive. Retrieved December 17, 2006.
3. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2001 QW322)" (2004-10-15 last obs). Retrieved 30 March 2016.
4. Strangest Kuiper Belt Objects: The Top Five, astroengine, November 9, 2008
5. Petit, J.-M.; Kavelaars, J. J.; Gladman, B. J.; Margot, J. L.; Nicholson, P. D.; Jones, R. L.; Parker, J. Wm.; Ashby, M. L. N.; Bagatin, A. C.; = Benavidez, P.; Coffey, J.; Rousselot, P.; Mousis, O.; Taylor, P. A. (2008). "The Extreme Kuiper Belt Binary 2001 QW322". Science 322 (5900): 432–4. Bibcode:2008Sci...322..432P. doi:10.1126/science.1163148. PMID 18927391.

External links

• Kuiper belt pair sets record for long-distance relationship, New Scientist, 16 October 2008
• 2001 QW322 at the JPL Small-Body Database

• Discovery · Orbit diagram · Orbital elements · Physical parameters