Girish Mahajan (Editor)

(148209) 2000 CR105

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Discovered by
  
Marc W. Buie

Alternative names
  
2000 CR105

Discovery date
  
6 February 2000

Observation arc
  
5547 days (15.19 yr)

Minor planet category
  
E-SDO (detached object)

Aphelion
  
411.62 AU (61.577 Tm) (Q)

(148209) 2000 CR105, also written as (148209) 2000 CR105, is the tenth-most-distant known object in the Solar System as of 2015. Considered a detached object, it orbits the Sun in a highly eccentric orbit every 3305 years at an average distance of 222 astronomical units (AU).

Mike Brown's website lists it as a possible dwarf planet with a diameter of 328 kilometres (204 mi) based on an assumed albedo of 0.04. The albedo is expected to be low because the object has a blue (neutral) color. However, if the albedo is higher, the object could easily be half that size.

(148209) 2000 CR105 and Sedna differ from scattered-disc objects in that they are not within the gravitational influence of the planet Neptune even at their perihelion distances (closest approaches to the Sun). It is something of a mystery as to how these objects came to be in their current, far-flung orbits. Several hypotheses have been put forward:

  • They were pulled from their original positions by a passing star.
  • They were pulled from their original positions by a very distant, and as-yet-undiscovered (albeit unlikely), giant planet.
  • They were pulled from their original positions by an undiscovered companion star orbiting the Sun.
  • They were captured from another planetary system during a close encounter early in the Sun's history. According to Kenyon and Bromley, there is a 15% probability that a star like the Sun had an early close encounter and a 1% probability that outer planetary exchanges would have happened. (148209) 2000 CR105 is estimated to be 2–3 times more likely to be a captured planetary object than Sedna.

    • (148209) 2000 CR105 is the first object discovered in the Solar System to have a semi-major axis exceeding 150 AU, a perihelion beyond Neptune, and an argument of perihelion of 340 ± 55°. It is one of five objects known with a semi-major axis greater than 100 AU and perihelion beyond 42 AU. It may be influenced by Planet Nine.

    References

    (148209) 2000 CR105 Wikipedia
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