Discovered by Palomar team Discovery date 10 December 2002 Alternative names 2002 XW93 | Discovery site Palomar Obs. MPC designation (78799) 2002 XW93 Minor planet category TNO | |
(78799) 2002 XW93 is an unnamed minor planet in the outer Solar System, classified as a trans-Neptunian object, approximately 550–600 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by and at the U.S Palomar Observatory, California, on 10 December 2002. According to American astronomer Michael Brown, the minor planet is a likely dwarf planet.
The minor planet orbits the Sun at a distance of 28.1–46.8 AU once every 229 years and 2 months (83,708 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.25 and an inclination of 14° with respect to the ecliptic. The first precovery was taken at Palomar's Digitized Sky Survey in 1989, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 13 years prior to its discovery.
As of 2016, after a total of 29 observations, its orbital uncertainty parameter is at 3. Its last observation was made by the Hubble Space Telescope in September 2008. On 10 August 1926, it most recently reached perihelion, when it was nearest to the Sun. It is a near 5:7 resonant trans-Neptunian object.