2012 VP113

is a trans-Neptunian object of the sednoid population, located in the outermost reaches of the Solar System. It was first observed on 5 November 2012 by American astronomers Scott Sheppard and Chad Trujillo at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. The discovery was announced on 26 March 2014. The object probably measures somewhere in the range of 600 km in diameter.

Classification and physical characteristics

is the minor planet with the farthest known perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) in the Solar System, greater than 's. Though its perihelion is farther, has an aphelion only about half of Sedna's. It is the second discovered sednoid, with semi-major axis beyond and perihelion greater than . The similarity of the orbit of to other known extreme trans-Neptunian objects led Scott Sheppard and Chad Trujillo to suggest that an undiscovered object, Planet Nine, in the outer Solar System is shepherding these distant objects into similar type orbits.

It has an absolute magnitude of 4.0, which means it may be large enough to be a dwarf planet. It is expected to be about half the size of Sedna and similar in size to Huya. Its surface is moderately red in color, resulting from chemical changes produced by the effect of radiation on frozen water, methane, and carbon dioxide. This optical color is consistent with formation in the gas-giant region and not the classical Kuiper belt, which is dominated by ultra-red colored objects.

History

Discovery

was first observed on 5 November 2012 with NOAO's 4-meter Víctor M. Blanco Telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory. Carnegie's 6.5-meter Magellan telescope at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile was used to determine its orbit and surface properties. Before being announced to the public, it was only tracked by Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory ( 807) and Las Campanas Observatory ( 304). Two precovery measurements from 22 October 2011 have been reported. A primary issue with observing it and finding precovery observations of it is that at an apparent magnitude of 23, it is too faint for most telescopes to easily observe.

Nickname

was abbreviated "VP" and nicknamed "Biden" by the discovery team, after Joe Biden who was the vice president ("VP") of the United States in 2012.

Orbit

has the largest perihelion distance of any known object in the Solar System. Its last perihelion was within a couple months of September 1979. The paucity of bodies with perihelia at appears not to be an observational artifact.

It is possibly a member of a hypothesized Hills cloud. It has a perihelion, argument of perihelion, and current position in the sky similar to those of Sedna. In fact, all known Solar System bodies with semi-major axes over and perihelia greater than Neptune's have arguments of perihelion clustered near . This could indicate a similar formation mechanism for these bodies. was the first such object discovered.

It is currently unknown how acquired a perihelion distance beyond the Kuiper belt. The characteristics of its orbit, like those of Sedna's, have been explained as possibly created by a passing star or a trans-Neptunian planet of several Earth masses hundreds of astronomical units from the Sun. The orbital architecture of the trans-Plutonian region may signal the presence of more than one planet. could even be captured from another planetary system. However, it is considered more likely that the perihelion of was raised by multiple interactions within the crowded confines of the open star cluster in which the Sun formed.

File:Celestia 2012 VP113 orbit.PNG, Simulated view showing the orbit of
File:Planet nine-etnos now-new3.png, 2012 VP113 orbit in white with hypothetical Planet Nine
File:Distant object orbits + Planet Nine.png, The orbits of known distant objects with large aphelion distances over 200 AU

See also

*List of Solar System objects most distant from the Sun
*90377 Sedna (relatively large and also distant body)
* 541132 Leleākūhonua (distant sednoid)
*List of hyperbolic comets
*List of possible dwarf planets
;Other large aphelion objects:
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()

References

External links

2012 VP113 Inner Oort Cloud Object Discovery Images
from Scott S. Sheppard/Carnegie Institution for Science.

2012 VP113 has Q=460 ± 30
(mpml: CFHT 2011-Oct-22 precovery)

List of Known Trans-Neptunian Objects
Johnston's Archive


Minor Planet Center
*

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Inner Oort cloud