2015 KH163, is a trans-Neptunian- and scattered disc object from the outermost region of the Solar System, approximately 117 kilometers in diameter. It was first observed by astronomers during the Outer Solar System Origins Survey at the Mauna Kea Observatories on 24 May 2015.[1][2][5]
Discovery[1][2] | |
---|---|
Discovered by | OSSOS |
Discovery site | Mauna Kea Obs. |
Discovery date | 24 May 2015 |
Designations | |
2015 KH163 | |
o5m85[3] | |
TNO[4] · SDO[5] distant[1] · detached | |
Orbital characteristics[4] | |
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 4 | |
Observation arc | 2.97 yr (1,085 days) |
Aphelion | 273.00 AU |
Perihelion | 40.068 AU |
156.53 AU | |
Eccentricity | 0.7440 |
1958.49 yr (715,337 days) | |
353.15° | |
0° 0m 1.8s / day | |
Inclination | 27.079° |
67.593° | |
230.29° | |
Physical characteristics | |
Dimensions | 117 km (calculated)[5] |
0.09 (assumed)[5] | |
7.9483[4] | |
This minor planet is one of a small number of detached objects with perihelion distances of 30 AU or more, and semi-major axes of 150 AU or more.[6] Such objects can not reach such orbits without some perturbing object, which lead to the speculation of Planet Nine.
Based on an absolute magnitude of approximately 7.95 and an assumed albedo of 0.09, the Johnston's Archive calculated a mean-diameter of 117 kilometers.[5]
2015 KH163 is located very near the 1:12 Neptune resonance of 157.8 AU (compared to its 157.2 ± 0.6 AU), meaning that it completes roughly 1 orbit for every 12 orbits Neptune makes.