"Quaoar" redirects here. For the Tongva god after which the object is named, see Chinigchinix.Not to be confused with Quasar.
50000 Quaoar
Low-resolution Hubble Space Telescope image of Quaoar and its moon Weywot, February 2006
Discovery[1]
Discovered by
Chadwick A. Trujillo
Michael E. Brown
Discovery site
Palomar Observatory
Discovery date
4 June 2002
Designations
MPC designation
(50000) Quaoar
Pronunciation
/ˈkwɑːwɑːr/, /ˈkwɑːoʊ.ɑːr/
Named after
Qua-o-ar / Kwawar[2] (deity of the Tongva people)
Alternative designations
2002 LM60
Minor planet category
TNO[3]· cubewano[4][5]
distant[1] dwarf planet
Adjectives
Quaoarian
Symbol
(mostly astrological)
Orbital characteristics[3]
Epoch 31 May 2020 (JD 2459000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 3
Observation arc
65.27 yr (23,839 d)
Earliest precovery date
25 May 1954
Aphelion
45.488 AU (6.805 Tm)
Perihelion
41.900 AU (6.268 Tm)
Semi-major axis
43.694 AU (6.537 Tm)
Eccentricity
0.04106
Orbital period (sidereal)
288.83 yr (105,495 d)
Mean anomaly
301.104°
Mean motion
0° 0m 12.285s / day
Inclination
7.9895°
Longitude of ascending node
188.927°
Time of perihelion
≈ 11 February 2075[6] ±17 days
Argument of perihelion
147.480°
Known satellites
1 (Weywot)
Physical characteristics
Dimensions
1,286 × 1,080 × 932 km[a][7]
Mean diameter
1,090±40 km (2024; volume equivalent)[7]
Mean radius
545±20 km (2024; volume equivalent)[7]
Surface area
3.78×106 km2[8]
Volume
6.78×108 km3[9]
Mass
(1.20±0.05)×1021 kg[10]: 3
Mean density
1.66–1.77 g/cm3[7]
Equatorial surface gravity
0.37 m/s2 at poles to 0.19 m/s2 at longest axis
Equatorial escape velocity
0.59 km/s at poles to 0.5 km/s at longest axis
Synodic rotation period
17.6788±0.0004 h[11][10]
Axial tilt
13.6°[b] or 14.0°[c] to ecliptic (if coplanar with rings)
North pole right ascension
258.47°±0.87°[10]: 3 or 259.82°±0.23°[13]: 4 (outer ring)
North pole declination
+54.14°±0.11°[10]: 3 or +53.45°±0.30°[13]: 4 (outer ring)
Geometric albedo
0.124±0.006[13]
Temperature
≈ 44 K[14]
Spectral type
IR (moderately red) B–V=0.94±0.01[15][16] V−R=0.64±0.01[15] V−I=1.28±0.02[16][17]
Apparent magnitude
19.0[18]
Absolute magnitude (H)
2.737±0.008[18] 2.4 (assumed)[3][1]
Angular diameter
40.4±1.8 milliarcseconds[19]
Quaoar (minor-planet designation: 50000 Quaoar) is a large, ringed dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a region of icy planetesimals beyond Neptune. It has an elongated ellipsoid shape with an average diameter of 1,090 km (680 mi), about half the size of the dwarf planet Pluto. The object was discovered by American astronomers Chad Trujillo and Michael Brown at the Palomar Observatory on 4 June 2002. Quaoar's surface contains crystalline water ice and ammonia hydrate, which suggests that it might have experienced cryovolcanism. A small amount of methane is present on its surface, which can only be retained by the largest Kuiper belt objects.
Quaoar has one known moon, Weywot, which was discovered by Brown in February 2007.[20] Both objects were named after mythological figures from the Native American Tongva people in Southern California. Quaoar is the Tongva creator deity and Weywot is his son. In 2023, astronomers announced the discovery of two thin rings orbiting Quaoar outside its Roche limit, which defies theoretical expectations that rings outside the Roche limit should not be stable.[13]
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^JPL Horizons Archived 9 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine Observer Location: @sun (Perihelion occurs when deldot changes from negative to positive. Uncertainty in time of perihelion is 3-sigma.)
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Quaoar (minor-planet designation: 50000Quaoar) is a large, ringed dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a region of icy planetesimals beyond Neptune. It has...
designation (50000) Quaoar I; provisional designation S/2006 (50000) 1) is a natural satellite or moon of the trans-Neptunian dwarf planet 50000Quaoar. It was...
50000 may refer to: 50000Quaoar, a dwarf planet in the Solar System 50,000, a natural number This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the...
S2CID 256667345. C. L. Pereira; et al. (2023). "The two rings of (50000) Quaoar". Astronomy & Astrophysics. arXiv:2304.09237. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202346365...
Koreans win their first ever FIFA World Cup match. The dwarf planet 50000Quaoar is discovered. The Zeyzoun Dam in Zayzun, Syria fails. June 6 – An object...
"The visible and thermal light curve of the large Kuiper belt object (50000) Quaoar". Astronomy & Astrophysics. forthcoming. arXiv:2401.12679. Bibcode:2024arXiv240112679K...
Shape, Albedo, Density, and Atmospheric Limit of Transneptunian Object (50000) Quaoar from Multi-chord Stellar Occultations". The Astrophysical Journal. 773...
distinct peoples, assigning them languages and territories. In June 2002, 50000Quaoar, a large trans-Neptunian object and ringed dwarf planet, was discovered...
"The visible and thermal light curve of the large Kuiper belt object (50000) Quaoar". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 684: A50. arXiv:2401.12679. Bibcode:2024arXiv240112679K...
"JPL Small-Body Database Browser". "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 50000Quaoar (2002 LM60)" (2009-09-12 last obs). Archived from the original on 2011-06-11...
Makemake, the largest known cubewano[citation needed] and a dwarf planet 50000Quaoar and 20000 Varuna, each considered the largest TNO at the time of discovery...
500 and 1500 km (more than half that of Pluto) have been discovered. 50000Quaoar, a classical KBO discovered in 2002, is over 1000 km across. Makemake...
engineer in Massachusetts, proposed astronomical symbols for the dwarf planets Quaoar, Sedna, Orcus, Haumea, Eris, Makemake, and Gonggong. (At the time astronomers...
have not been verified as having been fluent speakers. The minor planet 50000Quaoar was named after the Tongva creator god. The Gabrielino language is a...
Shape, Albedo, Density, and Atmospheric Limit of Transneptunian Object (50000) Quaoar from Multi-chord Stellar Occultations". The Astrophysical Journal. 773...
"The visible and thermal light curve of the large Kuiper belt object (50000) Quaoar". Astronomy & Astrophysics. forthcoming. arXiv:2401.12679. Bibcode:2024arXiv240112679K...
of the ices. The signatures of crystalline water ice was observed on 50000Quaoar, perhaps due to resurfacing events such as impacts or cryovolcanism....
depicted in the 2047 Science Centre, Borlänge, 200 km (124 mi) from the Globe. Quaoar (6cm (2.4 in) in diameter) is located in the library in Gislaved, 340 km...
presence of crystalline ice on large and mid-sized objects, including 50000Quaoar where ammonia hydrate has also been detected, may indicate past tectonic...
September 2014). "(50000) Quaoar and Weywot". Johnston's Archive. Retrieved 20 June 2023. Fraser, Wesley C.; Brown, Michael E. (May 2010). "Quaoar: A Rock in...
"The visible and thermal light curve of the large Kuiper belt object (50000) Quaoar". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 684: A50. arXiv:2401.12679. Bibcode:2024A&A...
information about the object, including its orbital elements, can be obtained. 50000Quaoar and 90377 Sedna are two Solar System objects discovered in this way by...