| Discovered by Mauna Kea MPC designation (44594) 1999 OX3 Observation arc 6010 days (16.45 yr) Discovered 21 July 1999 Discovery site Mauna Kea Observatories | Discovery date 21 July 1999 Minor planet category TNOcentaur (DES) Orbital period 184 years Orbits Sun Asteroid group Centaur | |
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| Aphelion 46.592 AU (6.9701 Tm) (Q) Discoverers Jean-Marc Petit, John J. Kavelaars, Brett J. Gladman, Matthew J. Holman Similar John J Kavelaars discoveries, Other celestial objects | ||
(44594) 1999 OX3 is a trans-Neptunian object with a centaur-like orbit.
Classification
Neptune has a semi-major axis of 30 AU and (44594) 1999 OX3 has a semi-major axis of 32 AU. The Minor Planet Center (MPC) does not classify this object as a centaur because the MPC defines centaurs as having a semi-major axis of less than 30.066 AU. (44594) 1999 OX3 crosses the orbits of both Neptune and Uranus and has an inclination of only 2.62°. The Deep Ecliptic Survey (DES) defines centaurs using a dynamical classification scheme, based on the behavior of orbital integrations over 10 million years. The DES defines centaurs as nonresonant objects whose osculating perihelia are less than the osculating semimajor axis of Neptune at any time during the integration. Using the dynamical definition of a centaur, (44594) 1999 OX3 is a centaur.