Hidden giant revealed in outer Solar System
14:06 03 July 01
Will Knight
A major new object orbiting the Sun has been discovered
beyond Neptune in the shadowy region known as the Kuiper
belt.
The object, named 2001 KX76, may be larger than both
Pluto's moon Charon and Ceres, the largest known asteroid
in the solar system.
The Kuiper Belt is thought to contain many left-over remnants
from the birth of the solar system. Experts say this latest
discovery increases the likelihood of locating objects that may
rival Pluto in size.
"2001 KX76 is so exciting because it demonstrates that
significant bodies remain to be discovered in the Kuiper Belt,"
said Robert Millis, director of Lowell Observatory. "Until the
Kuiper Belt has been thoroughly explored, we cannot
pretend to know the extent or the content of the Solar
System."
It was discovered through the Deep Ecliptic Survey, a
programme to find Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) funded by
NASA. This includes the Lowell Observatory in Arizona,
MIT and the Large Binocular Telescope Observatory, a
collaboration of a number of universities.
Reflective mode
The estimated size of KX76 depends on how reflective
astronomers assume the object to be. According to one
assumption it may be 1270 kilometres (788 miles) in
diameter, which is 70 kilometres larger than Charon and
considerably bigger than Ceres. NASA's Space Infrared
Telescope Facility mission will provide more accurate
measurements of objects within the Kuiper Belt when it
launches in 2002.
2001 KX76 is more than 6.4 billion kilometres from the Sun.
Its orbit is inclined 20 degrees with respect to the major
planets and is thought to be locked in motion with Neptune's
orbit, making three orbits of t…
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