(119979) 2002 WC19

(119979) 2002 WC19
Discovery
Discovered by Palomar Observatory
Discovery date 16 November 2002
Designations
MPC designation (119979) 2002 WC19
Twotino[1][2]
Orbital characteristics[3]
Epoch 13 January 2016 (JD 2457400.5)
Uncertainty parameter 3
Observation arc 3978 days (10.89 yr)
Aphelion 60.732 AU (9.0854 Tm)
Perihelion 35.289 AU (5.2792 Tm)
48.010 AU (7.1822 Tm)
Eccentricity 0.26498
332.67 yr (121507 d)
316.02°
0° 0m 10.666s / day
Inclination 9.1746°
109.7547°
44.356°
Known satellites 1 (≈ 127 km)[4]
Earth MOID 34.3056 AU (5.13204 Tm)
Jupiter MOID 29.9229 AU (4.47640 Tm)
Physical characteristics
Dimensions ≈ 440 km (assumed)[4]
0.07 (expected from theory)[5]
4.9

    (119979) 2002 WC19, also written as (119979) 2002 WC19, is a twotino, i.e. it is in a 1:2 orbital resonance with Neptune. It was discovered on November 16, 2002 at the Palomar Observatory. It is probably a dwarf planet.[5]

    Knowing how many twotinos there are may reveal whether Neptune took roughly 1 million or 10 million years to migrate about 7 AU from its birth location.[6]

    Orbit of 2002 WC19 compared to Pluto and Neptune
    1:2 libration over 20,000 years – Neptune is held stationary (dot at 5 o'clock); orbit of Uranus in blue

    Satellite

    A natural satellite was reported to be orbiting (119979) 2002 WC19 on February 27, 2007. It is estimated to be 2,760 ± 250 km from the primary and to be around 139 kilometres (86 mi) in diameter.[4]

    References

    1. ↑ Marc W. Buie (2004-12-14). "Orbit Fit and Astrometric record for 119979". (using 61 of 65 observations) SwRI (Space Science Department). Retrieved 2009-03-04.
    2. ↑ "MPEC 2009-C70 :Distant Minor Planets (2009 February 28.0 TT)". Minor Planet Center. 2009-02-10. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
    3. ↑ "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 119979 (2002 WC19)" (2012-11-06 last obs; arc: 10.89 years). Retrieved 7 April 2016.
    4. 1 2 3 Wm. Robert Johnston (20 September 2014). "(119979) 2002 WC19". Johnston's Archive. Retrieved 2014-11-15.
    5. 1 2 Mike Brown, How many dwarf planets are there in the outer solar system? Archived October 18, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
    6. ↑ Ron Cowen (2009-01-04). "On the Fringe". ScienceNews. Archived from the original on 7 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
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