2013 BL76

2013 BL76
The orbits of some of the most distant minor planets, 2013 BL76 at top left
Discovery [1][2][3]
Discovered by Mt. Lemmon Survey
Discovery date 20 January 2013
Designations
MPC designation 2013 BL76
TNO [1] · Centaur (DES)[4] 
damocloid · distant [5]
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 1
Observation arc 1.88 yr (687 days)
Aphelion 2151.77 AU
~ 1920 AU[lower-alpha 1]
Perihelion 8.3622 AU
1080.07 AU
~ 964 AU[lower-alpha 1]
Eccentricity 0.9923
35,496 yr (12,965,058 d)
~ 29900 yr[lower-alpha 1]
last perihelion: 2012-10-27
0.0493°
0° 0m 0s / day
Inclination 98.613°
180.20°
165.96°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions ~ 15–40 km[6]
30–40 km (at 0.1–0.05)
22.1[7]
10.8[1][5]

    2013 BL76 is a trans-Neptunian object and centaur[4] from the scattered disk and Inner Oort cloud approximately 30 kilometers in diameter.

    Using an epoch of February 2017, it is the minor planet with the 5th largest heliocentric semi-major axis in the Solar System (larger ones include 2014 FE72, 2012 DR30, and 2005 VX3).[8] 2013 BL76 has a barycentric semi-major axis of ~964 AU,[9][lower-alpha 1] which is the third largest barycentric semi-major axis of any minor planet.

    Possible comet

    With an absolute magnitude (H) of 10.8[5] and an unknown albedo, the object has an estimated diameter of 15–40 km.[6] Since it has not been seen out-gassing, it is not known if it is a comet or not. It might also be a damocloid, a type of minor planet that was originally a comet but lost most of its near-surface volatile materials after numerous orbits around the Sun. It also might be a dormant comet that simply has not been seen outgassing.

    Orbit

    2013 BL76 came to perihelion 8.3 AU from the Sun on 27 October 2012, when it reached an apparent magnitude of about 20.[2] In 1927, when it was 100 AU from the Sun, it had an apparent magnitude of about 30.8.[11] For comparison dwarf planet 90377 Sedna had an apparent magnitude of 21.7 when it was 100 AU from the Sun.[12] It comes to opposition at the start of September.

    It will not be 50 AU from the Sun until 2045. After leaving the planetary region of the Solar System, 2013 BL76 will have a barycentric aphelion of 1920 AU with an orbital period of 29900 years.[lower-alpha 1]

    The orbit of 2013 BL76 currently comes closer to Saturn than any of the other giant planets.[5] In a 10 million year integration of the orbit, the nominal (best-fit) orbit acquires a perihelion point of 0.5 AU (inside the orbit of Venus), and one of the 3-sigma clones acquires a perihelion point of only 0.008 AU (1,200,000 km).[4]

    2013 BL76 travels in a technically retrograde orbit around the Sun. It is actually orbiting in a plane nearly perpendicular to that of the ecliptic. It has the 55th highest inclination of any known asteroid, after 2010 GW147 and before 2014 HS150.

    Comparison

    Sedna compared to some other very distant orbiting bodies including 2015 DB216 (orbit wrong), 2000 OO67, 2004 VN112, 2005 VX3, 2006 SQ372, 2007 TG422, 2007 DA61, 2009 MS9, 2010 GB174, 2010 NV1, 2010 BK118, 2012 DR30, 2012 VP113, 2013 BL76, 2013 AZ60, 2013 RF98, 2015 ER61
    Orbital evolution
    EpochBarycentric
    Aphelion (Q)
    (AU)    		Orbital
    period
    yr
    1950184928300
    2050192029900

    Largest semimajor axes of minor planets

    Notes

    1. 1 2 3 4 5 Given the orbital eccentricity of this object, different epochs can generate quite different heliocentric unperturbed two-body best-fit solutions to the semi-major axis and orbital period. For objects at such high eccentricity, the Sun's barycenter is more stable than a heliocentric solution.[10] Using JPL Horizons, the barycentric semi-major axis is approximately 964 AU.[9]
    2. ↑ 0–3 is high-certainty and well constrained, 9 is low-certainty and probably lost.

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2013 BL76)" (last observation: 2014-08-25; arc: 1.88 years). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Archived from the original on 4 January 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
    2. 1 2 "2013 BL76". Seicchi Yoshida's Home Page. Retrieved 2013-07-12.
    3. ↑ "MPEC 2013-C12 : 2013 BL76". IAU Minor Planet Center. 2013-02-03. Retrieved 2013-10-14. (K13B76L)
    4. 1 2 3 Marc W. Buie. "Orbit Fit and Astrometric record for 13BL76". SwRI (Space Science Department). Archived from the original on 2016-02-06. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
    5. 1 2 3 4 "2013 BL76". IAU minor planet center. Archived from the original on 2013-07-12. Retrieved 2013-07-12.
    6. 1 2 "Absolute Magnitude (H)". NASA/JPL. Retrieved 2013-10-13.
    7. ↑ "AstDyS 2013BL76 Ephemerides". Department of Mathematics, University of Pisa, Italy. Retrieved 2016-02-04.
    8. ↑ "JPL Small-Body Database Search Engine: Asteroids and a > 100 (AU)". JPL Solar System Dynamics. Retrieved 2013-10-13. (Epoch defined at will change every 6 months or so)
    9. 1 2 Horizons output. "Barycentric Osculating Orbital Elements for 2013 BL76". Retrieved 2014-03-06. (Solution using the Solar System Barycenter and barycentric coordinates. Select Ephemeris Type:Elements and Center:@0)
    10. ↑ Kaib, Nathan A.; Becker, Andrew C.; Jones, R. Lynne; Puckett, Andrew W.; Bizyaev, Dmitry; Dilday, Benjamin; Frieman, Joshua A.; Oravetz, Daniel J.; Pan, Kaike; Quinn, Thomas; Schneider, Donald P.; Watters, Shannon (2009). "2006 SQ372: A Likely Long-Period Comet from the Inner Oort Cloud". The Astrophysical Journal. 695 (1): 268–275. arXiv:0901.1690. Bibcode:2009ApJ...695..268K. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/695/1/268.
    11. ↑ "AstDys 2013BL76 Ephemerides for 1927 (when 100AU from Sun)". Department of Mathematics, University of Pisa, Italy. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
    12. ↑ "AstDys (90377) Sedna Ephemerides for 1975 (when 100AU from Sun)". Department of Mathematics, University of Pisa, Italy. Retrieved 2013-10-14.

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