Jewitt and Luu note that a cometlike albedo of 4 percent then implies a diameter of 200 km and that the red color suggests a surface composition rich in organics.
| 1992 QB1: First Object Discovered in Kuiper Belt | KBO 03 | ||
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D. Jewitt, University of Hawaii; and J. Luu, University of California at Berkeley, report the discovery of a very faint object with very slow (3"/hour) retrograde near- opposition motion, detected in CCD images obtained with the University of Hawaii's 2.2-m telescope at Mauna Kea. | ||
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| Image Credit: David Jewitt, University of Hawaii; and J. Luu, University of California at Berkeley. | |||
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| D. Jewitt, University of Hawaii; and J. Luu, University of California at Berkeley, report the discovery of a very faint object with very slow (3"/hour) retrograde near- opposition motion, detected in CCD images obtained with the University of Hawaii's 2.2-m telescope at Mauna Kea. | |
Computations
by the undersigned indicate that 1992 QB1 is currently between 37 and 59
AU from the earth but that the orbit (except for the nodal longitude) is
completely indeterminate. Some solutions are compatible with membership
in the supposed "Kuiper Belt", but the object could also be a
comet in a near-parabolic orbit. Jewitt and Luu note that a cometlike albedo of 4 percent then implies a diameter of 200 km and that the red color suggests a surface composition rich in organics. |
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