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| Quaoar | |
|---|---|
| Name | Quaoar |
| Designation | (50000) Quaoar |
| Discoverer | Chad Trujillo and Michael Brown |
| Discovery date | 2002 |
| Aphelion | 43.7 AU |
| Perihelion | 41.6 AU |
| Semimajor | 42.7 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.04 |
| Period | 279 yr |
| Diameter | ~1,110 km |
| Mass | 1.6×10^21 kg |
| Albedo | 0.12–0.19 |
| Satellite | Weywot |
Quaoar Quaoar is a trans-Neptunian minor planet in the Kuiper belt discovered in 2002. It is one of the larger known Kuiper belt objects and has been the subject of studies by astronomers connected to observatories and institutions pursuing outer Solar System research. Quaoar's physical and dynamical properties make it relevant to models of planetary formation and to surveys of comparable bodies.
Quaoar was discovered by Chad Trujillo and Michael E. Brown using observations from the Palomar Observatory and the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey II as part of programs associated with the California Institute of Technology and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Media coverage in outlets such as the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and Science (journal) highlighted links to earlier surveys like the Palomar Digital Sky Survey and missions such as NEAT (Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking). The name Quaoar derives from a creation deity of the Tongva people and was approved following review by the International Astronomical Union and committees similar to those managing names for Pluto, Eris, and Haumea.
Quaoar orbits the Sun in the Kuiper belt beyond Neptune with a semimajor axis similar to other classical Kuiper belt objects such as Makemake, Haumea, and Eris. Its low eccentricity and inclination place it among the dynamically "cold" or "hot" populations debated in literature by teams at institutions like the Institute for Astronomy (University of Hawaii) and researchers publishing in The Astronomical Journal. Debates in classification reference frameworks used for dwarf planet status set by the International Astronomical Union and comparisons to resonant objects such as Pluto in the 2:3 resonance and to scattered disk objects exemplified by 20000 Varuna.
Quaoar's diameter, estimated through combined analyses from the Hubble Space Telescope, ground-based adaptive optics at facilities like Keck Observatory and thermal measurements from instruments influenced by Spitzer Space Telescope results, places it among mid-sized trans-Neptunian objects comparable to Ceres relative scale discussions and to Orcus and Salacia in size class. Mass estimates derive from binary orbit analyses and comparisons to satellites studied around Eris and Haumea, while density inferences invoke compositions discussed in models from groups at Caltech and Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Brightness and albedo measurements reference photometry work published in Icarus and Astronomy & Astrophysics.
Spectroscopic observations of Quaoar performed with instruments on telescopes including Keck Observatory, Very Large Telescope, and the Infrared Telescope Facility reveal surface absorption features attributed to crystalline and amorphous ices analogous to those studied on Triton and Europa. Papers comparing spectra to laboratory studies at facilities such as the Jet Propulsion Laboratory discuss the presence of water ice and possible methane, linking Quaoar to compositional families including Makemake and Eris. Geological interpretations reference impact processes studied in the context of Late Heavy Bombardment models and crater retention analyses used for bodies like Vesta and Ceres.
Searches for transient atmospheres and sublimation-driven activity around Quaoar have employed techniques refined during occultation campaigns led by teams from European Southern Observatory and American Astronomical Society collaborations, paralleling efforts that detected atmospheres at Pluto and Triton. Studies consider volatile retention models developed by researchers at Southwest Research Institute and Cornell University, which weigh surface temperature, gravity, and escape velocity similar to analyses applied to Eris and Makemake to predict the stability of volatiles such as methane, nitrogen, and carbon monoxide.
Quaoar hosts at least one confirmed satellite, Weywot, discovered through high-resolution imaging from the Keck Observatory and confirmed via orbital fitting methods used for satellites of Eris (Dysnomia) and Haumea (Hiʻiaka and Namaka). Mass and orbital period determinations used techniques developed in studies published by teams at Caltech and University of California, Berkeley to derive system mass and density. Searches for rings or additional companions borrow methodologies from ring discoveries around Chariklo and Haumea involving stellar occultations organized by groups such as the International Occultation Timing Association.
The origin and evolutionary pathways proposed for Quaoar draw on simulations of planetesimal accretion and migration scenarios from models like the Nice model and hypotheses involving interactions with Neptune and migrating giant planets. Researchers at institutions including University of Arizona and Massachusetts Institute of Technology compare collisional histories, binary formation mechanisms, and dynamical emplacement processes to outcomes predicted for Kuiper belt sculpting and for families linked to catastrophic disruptions akin to studies of the Himalia group and other small-body populations.