(84522) 2002 TC ₃₀₂

Asteroid (84522) 2002 TC 302
Properties of the orbit ( animation ) Epoch:  April 27, 2019 ( JD 2,458,600.5)
Orbit type	RKBO (5: 2 resonance)
Major semi-axis	54.968  AU
eccentricity	0.29
Perihelion - aphelion	39.049 AU - 70.887 AU
Inclination of the orbit plane	35.1 °
Length of the ascending node	23.9 °
Argument of the periapsis	87.2 °
Time of passage of the perihelion	July 3, 2059
Sidereal period	407 a 6.4 M
Mean orbital velocity	3.922 km / s
Physical Properties
Medium diameter	${\displaystyle 584{,}1_{-88,0}^{+105,6}\mathrm {km} }$
Albedo	${\displaystyle 0{,}115_{-0,033}^{+0,047}\mathrm {} }$
Rotation period	5 h 24 min 36 s
Absolute brightness	3.8 likes
Spectral class	BV = 1.03 ± 0.03 V-R = 0.67 ± 0.02
history
Explorer	Michael E. Brown Chadwick A. Trujillo David L. Rabinowitz
Date of discovery	October 9, 2002
Source: Unless otherwise stated, the data comes from JPL Small-Body Database Browser . The affiliation to an asteroid family is automatically determined from the AstDyS-2 database . Please also note the note on asteroid items.

(84522) 2002 TC ₃₀₂ is a large trans-Neptunian object that is classified as a resonant Kuiper belt object . The planetoid moves on an orbit, the period of which is in a 5: 2 ratio to the period of orbit of Neptune . Because of its size, the asteroid is a dwarf planet candidate .

discovery

(84522) 2002 TC ₃₀₂ was discovered on October 9, 2002 by a team of astronomers from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena consisting of Mike Brown , Chad Trujillo and David Lincoln Rabinowitz at the Palomar Observatory .

After its discovery, TC _{302 could be identified} in photos from August 5, 2000 in 2002 and its orbit calculated more precisely. Since then, the planetoid has been observed through various telescopes such as the Herschel and Spitzer space telescopes as well as earth-based telescopes. In April 2017, 116 observations were made over a period of 17 years.

properties

Orbit

2002 TC ₃₀₂ orbits the sun on a relatively strong elliptical orbit ( orbit eccentricity = 0.290) between about 39.05 and 70.89  AU from its center. The orbit is inclined 35.08 ° to the ecliptic . The orbit period of 2002 TC ₃₀₂ is 407.54 years. It will reach its perihelion in mid-2059, so the last perihelion should have been around the year 1652. It is currently about 44.7 AU from the Sun.

The Minor Planet Center as well as the Deep Ecliptic Survey rate the orbit in a 5: 2 resonance with Neptune. 2002 TC ₃₀₂ is after Gonggong the second largest resonant KBO that is not a plutino .

Fantasy representation of a possible view of the surface.

size

The diameter of 2002 TC ₃₀₂ was calculated by the Spitzer Space Telescope to be 1145 km, with an uncertainty of several hundred kilometers. This assessment was based on an assumed albedo of 0.031 and an absolute magnitude of 3.8673 mag. Mike Brown of the discovery team estimated the diameter as likely smaller. Investigations with the Herschel space telescope showed values ​​of only 584.1  ^{+105.6 in 2013}_−88.0 km.

It is currently assumed to have a diameter of around 600 km; it can therefore be assumed that 2002 TC ₃₀₂ is in hydrostatic equilibrium and that the asteroid thus belongs to the dwarf planet candidates , based on Mike Brown's taxonomic 5-class system. The latter himself estimates the diameter of the asteroid at 591 km based on an assumed albedo of 12% and an absolute brightness of 4.2  ^m . Since this estimate is less than 600 km, Brown assumes that 2002 TC ₃₀₂ is probably only a dwarf planet. The apparent magnitude of 2002 TC ₃₀₂ is 20.5 ^m .

2002 TC ₃₀₂ rotates once around its axis in most likely 5.41 hours. From this it follows that the asteroid performs 660,352.1 self- rotations ("days") in a 2002 TC ₃₀₂ year . However, rotation periods of 4.87 h or 6.08 h cannot be excluded.

Investigations in the infrared spectrum indicate that there is very little fresh water ice on the surface of 2002 TC ₃₀₂ .

Provisions of the diameter for 2002 TC ₃₀₂

year	Dimensions km	source
2004	<1195.0	Altenhoff et al. a.
2005	<1211.0	Grundy et al. a.
2007	1150.0 +337.0−325.0	Stansberry et al. a.
2010	1150.0	Tancredi
2013	584.1 +105.6−88.0	Fornasier et al. a.
2013	1164.0	Mommert et al. a.
2018	591.0	Brown
The most precise determination is marked in bold .

See also

• List of asteroids
• List of trans-Neptunian objects
• List of dwarf planets of the solar system

Web links

• Photos from 2002 TC ₃₀₂ (January 2003)
• 2002 TC ₃₀₂ in listing (Distant Minor Planets) of the Minor Planet Center
• How many dwarf planets are there in the outer solar system? Current list of the largest TNOs from Mike Brown

Individual evidence

1. ↑ v ≈ π * a / period (1 + sqrt (1-e²))
2. ↑ ^{a b c d} A. Gicquel, A. Barucci, P. Lacerda, F. Henry, R. Duffard, J. Crovisier, A. Delsanti, S. Mottola, GP Tozzi, J. Stansberry, E. Vilenius, D. Bockelée-Morvan, M. Mommert, T. Lim, C. Kiss, P. Panuzzo, P. Santos-Sanz, T. Müller, E. Lellouch, S. Fornasier: TNOs are Cool: A survey of the trans-Neptunian region . VIII. Combined Herschel PACS and SPIRE observations of nine bright targets at 70 to 500 μ m . In: Astronomy and Astrophysics . 555, No. A15, 2013, p. 22. arxiv : 1305.0449v2 . bibcode : 2013A & A ... 555A..15F . doi : 10.1051 / 0004-6361 / 201321329 .
3. ↑ ^{a b} A. Thirouin, JL Ortiz, A. Campo Bagatin, P. Pravec, N. Morales, O. Hainaut, R. Duffard: Short-term variability of 10 trans-Neptunian objects. 2012 arxiv : 1207.2044
4. ↑ S. Tegler u. a .: Kuiper Belt Object Magnitudes and Surface Colors (September 2006)
5. ↑ JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 84522 (2002 TC302) . Retrieved July 27, 2017.
6. ↑ AstDyS-2. Universita di Pisa, accessed July 1, 2017 .  
7. ^ John Stansberry, Will Grundy, Mike Brown, Dale Cruikshank, John Spencer, David Trilling, Jean-Luc Margot: Physical Properties of Kuiper Belt and Centaur Objects: Constraints from Spitzer Space Telescope . In: Astrophysics . 2007, arxiv : astro-ph / 0702538 .
8. ↑ W. Altenhoff u. a .: Size estimates of some optically bright KBOs (February 2004)
9. ↑ Grundy et al. a .: MPC: Diverse Albedos of Small Trans-Neptunian Objects
10. ↑ J. Stansberry et al. a .: Physical properties of Kuiper belt objects and Centaurs: Constraints from Spitzer Space Telescope (February 2007)
11. ^ G. Tancredi: Physical and dynamical characteristics of icy “dwarf planets” (plutoids) . IAU. April 1, 2010. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
12. ↑ M. Mommert et al. a .: Remnant planetesimals and their collisional fragments: Physical characterization from thermal-infrared observations (2013)
13. ↑ M. Brown : How many dwarf planets are there in the outer solar system? (November 2018)