In:
Science, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Vol. 322, No. 5900 ( 2008-10-17), p. 432-434
Abstract:
The study of binary Kuiper Belt objects helps to probe the dynamic conditions present during planet formation in the solar system. We report on the mutual-orbit determination of 2001 QW 322 , a Kuiper Belt binary with a very large separation whose properties challenge binary-formation and -evolution theories. Six years of tracking indicate that the binary's mutual-orbit period is ≈25 to 30 years, that the orbit pole is retrograde and inclined 50° to 62° from the ecliptic plane, and, most surprisingly, that the mutual orbital eccentricity is 〈 0.4. The semimajor axis of 105,000 to 135,000 kilometers is 10 times that of other near-equal-mass binaries. Because this weakly bound binary is prone to orbital disruption by interlopers, its lifetime in its present state is probably less than 1 billion years.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0036-8075
,
1095-9203
DOI:
10.1126/science.1163148
Language:
English
Publisher:
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Publication Date:
2008
detail.hit.zdb_id:
128410-1
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2066996-3
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2060783-0
SSG:
11
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