From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Classical Kuiper belt asteroid
2011 JY31 is a
binary
trans-Neptunian object from the
Kuiper belt , located in the outermost region of the
Solar System . It is a cold
classical Kuiper belt object . 2011 JY31 was discovered on 4 May 2011, by a team of astronomers using one of the
Magellan Telescopes in
Chile during the
New Horizons KBO Search for a potential flyby target for the
New Horizons spacecraft.
[2] Distant observations by New Horizons from September 2018 revealed its binary nature, showing two 68 km (42 mi)-wide components in a tight, mutual orbit 200 km (120 mi) apart.
[8]
Numbering and naming
This
minor planet has not been numbered by the
Minor Planet Center and remains
unnamed .
[1]
Physical parameters
High resolution observation by the
New Horizons spacecraft made it possible to estimate the parameters of the binary orbit and the system mass. Assuming that the orbit is circular the period is 46.62± 0.06 h , semimajor axis is 198.6± 2.9 km and the system mass is about 1.7× 1017 kg . The components are approximately equal in size and are approximately 68 km in size assuming density of 0.5 kg/cm3 .
[8]
The discovery adds support to
streaming instability as the dominant mechanism in the formation of tight and
contact binary
planetesimals such as
486958 Arrokoth , which appear to be prevalent in the
cold classical Kuiper belt population.
[11]
[12]
[7]
See also
References
^
a
b
c
d
"2011 JY31" . Minor Planet Center . International Astronomical Union. Retrieved 11 November 2021 .
^
a
b Tholen, D. J.; Buie, M. W.; Trilling, D.; Spencer, J.; Borncamp, D. M.; Osip, D. J.; Kavelaars, J.; Fuentes, C. I.; Schechter, P. L.; McLeod, B. A.; Conroy, M.; Parker, A. H.; Sheppard, S. S.; Williams, G. V. (11 December 2012).
"MPEC 2012-X60 : 2011 JY31" . Minor Planet Electronic Circular . 2012-X60. Minor Planet Center.
Bibcode :
2012MPEC....X...60T . Retrieved 13 November 2021 .
^ Benecchi, Susan (October 2011).
"Orbital Refinement and Characterization of New Horizons KBO candidates – HST Proposal 12535" . Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes . Space Telescopes Science Institute: 12535.
Bibcode :
2011hst..prop12535B . Retrieved 13 November 2021 .
^
a
b
c Porter, Simon B.; Spencer, John R.; Verbiscer, Anne J.; Benecchi, Susan; Weaver, Hal A.; Wen Lin, Hsing; et al. (January 2022).
"Orbits and Occultation Opportunities of 15 TNOs Observed by New Horizons" . The Planetary Science Journal . 3 (1): 19.
Bibcode :
2022PSJ.....3...23P .
doi :
10.3847/PSJ/ac3491 .
^
a
b
c
"JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2011 JY31)" (2016-06-30 last obs.).
Jet Propulsion Laboratory . Retrieved 11 November 2021 .
^ Johnston, Wm. Robert (29 August 2021).
"List of Known Trans-Neptunian Objects" . Johnston's Archive . Retrieved 11 November 2021 .
^
a
b
c
d
e Weaver, H. A.; Porter, S. B.; Spencer, J. R.; et al. (February 2022).
"High Resolution Search for KBO Binaries from New Horizons" . The Planetary Science Journal . 3 (46): 17.
arXiv :
2201.05940 .
Bibcode :
2022PSJ.....3...46W .
doi :
10.3847/PSJ/ac4cb7 .
S2CID
247088149 .
^
a
b
c
d
e
f Weaver, H. A.; Porter, S. B.; Spencer, J. R. (1 February 2022).
"High-resolution Search for Kuiper Belt Object Binaries from New Horizons" . The Planetary Science Journal . 3 (2): 46.
Bibcode :
2022PSJ.....3...46W .
doi :
10.3847/PSJ/ac4cb7 .
^
a
b Verbiscer, Anne J.; Porter, Simon; Benecchi, Susan D.; Kavelaars, J. J.; Weaver, Harold A.; Spencer, John R.; et al. (September 2019).
"Phase Curves from the Kuiper Belt: Photometric Properties of Distant Kuiper Belt Objects Observed by New Horizons" . The Astronomical Journal . 158 (3): 17.
arXiv :
1405.7181 .
Bibcode :
2019AJ....158..123V .
doi :
10.3847/1538-3881/ab3211 .
S2CID
202150415 . 123.
^
a
b Benecchi, S. D.; Noll, K. S.; Weaver, H. A.; Spencer, J. R.; Stern, S. A.; Buie, M. W.; Parker, A. H. (January 2015). "New Horizons: Long-range Kuiper Belt targets observed by the Hubble Space Telescope". Icarus . 246 : 369–374.
arXiv :
1405.7181 .
Bibcode :
2015Icar..246..369B .
doi :
10.1016/j.icarus.2014.04.014 .
hdl :
2060/20150011460 .
S2CID
119239605 .
^ Weaver, Harold; Porter, Simon; Spencer, John (October 2021).
Discovery of Tight Binaries in the Kuiper Belt by New Horizons LORRI . 53rd Annual DPS Meeting. Vol. 53. American Astronomical Society.
Bibcode :
2021DPS....5330707W . 307.07.
^ Dickinson, David (8 October 2021).
"New Horizons Discovers Kuiper Belt "Twins" " . Sky & Telescope . Retrieved 13 November 2021 .
External links
DPS 53 Wednesday Press Conference (Tight Twins in the Kuiper Belt presentation by Hal Weaver) ,
AAS Press Office, YouTube , 6 October 2021
DPS 53: Days 3, 4, and 5 , Kerry Hensley, AAS Nova, 9 October 2021
List of Transneptunian Objects , Minor Planet Center
2011 JY31 at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
2011 JY31 at the
JPL Small-Body Database
Targets
Flybys Observations Rejected
Spacecraft
Personnel
Logistics Related