Questions tagged [trans-neptunian-object]
Questions about objects orbiting the Sun with an average distance greater than that of Neptune.
11
questions
-4
votes
2answers
177 views
Why isn't Eris considered a planet despite being the body of dominant mass?
The 2006 definition of a planet states that a planet is a celestial body that
(a) is in orbit around the Sun
(b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it ...
2
votes
1answer
77 views
Can the WISE telescope detect black holes?
Black holes are hot, aren't they? With its infrared scan, could the WISE telescope also detect a black hole? The hypothetical planet beyond the Kuiper belt could actually be a primordial black hole. ...
5
votes
1answer
124 views
Could Eris have a permanent atmosphere?
In Wikipedia they write that Eris has an atmosphere when around perihelion (close to the Sun) which collapses when Eris moves away from the Sun. So it behaves similar to a comet's tail. However, they ...
4
votes
1answer
64 views
How can a Grade-11 Student avail TESS data and learn to process?
As mentioned, I am a Grade-11 student. I have always been interested in Data Processing activities. This sums up my experience of working on Asteroid hunt Campaign under IASC (International Asteroid ...
5
votes
1answer
1k views
What does the Sun look like from Eris at its aphelion?
At its aphelion (most distant location from the Sun) the outermost-known planet Eris is about 100 times as far from the Sun as Earth. What does the Sun look like from Eris' surface? Is there still a ...
2
votes
1answer
54 views
How official is TNO 486958, 2014 MU69's new name Arrokoth?
The Trans-Neptunian object 486958 or 2014 MU69 has had several designations and nicknames. According to Phys.org's NASA renames faraway ice world 'Arrokoth' after backlash
Ultima Thule, the ...
4
votes
0answers
34 views
Are occultation observations used/useful for orbit determination?
The IAU Minor Planet Center lists $(486958)\space 2014 \space MU_{69}$ "Ultima Thule" as having an uncertainty parameter of 2, based on the observation arc of 851 days, from its discovery in 2014, to ...
3
votes
0answers
117 views
Trans-Neptunian Dwarf Planet near Heliopause
Is there any reason to think a Trans-Neptunian dwarf planet, the size of Pluto, could not exist in a Keplerian orbit 120AU from the Sun?
If such an object existed, and came within 0.1AU of the ...
1
vote
1answer
137 views
How long would an occultation by a TNO last?
A trans-Neptunian object, 1 million km from the observer, with an angular diameter of 0.126° occults the Sun (angular diameter of 0.004°) and the TNO and the observer are moving in the same direction, ...
2
votes
1answer
83 views
How would the combined masses of the Centaurs or the scattered disk compare to the combined mass of the asteroid belt?
I'm interested in finding the combined mass of the Centaurs and the scattered disk. I looked around but I wasn't able to find any estimates. This seems to suggest that either the combined masses of ...
1
vote
2answers
182 views
How do they know how far out Farout is? (2018 VG18)
The Carnegie Science article Discovered: The Most-Distant Solar System Object Ever Observed begins:
Washington, DC— A team of astronomers has discovered the most-distant body ever observed in our ...
