Discovery date 10 December 2001 Minor planet category TNO (cubewano) | MPC designation 2001 XR254 | |
Discovered by David C. Jewitt, Scott S. Sheppard and J. Kleyna Aphelion 7012665695564827930♠44.499 AU Perihelion 7012624855346126830♠41.769 AU | ||
2001 XR254 is a binary classical Kuiper belt object belonging to the cold population.
Contents
Discovery and orbit
2001 XR254 was discovered on 10 December 2001 by David C. Jewitt, Scott S. Sheppard and Jan Kleyna using 2.2-m University of Hawaii reflector on Mauna Kea. 2001 XR254 belongs to the dynamically cold population of the classical Kuiper belt objects, which small orbital eccentricities and inclinations. Their semi-major axes reside mainly in the interval 40–45 AU.
Satellite
2001 XR254 is a binary consisting of two components of approximately equal size. Assuming that both components have the same albedo, the primary is estimated to be about 170 km in diameter. The size of the secondary (satellite) in this case is estimated at about 140 km. The total mass of the system is about 4×1018 kg. The average density of both components is about 1 g/cm3.
Physical properties
The surfaces of both components of 2001 XR254 appear to have a neutral color.