Discovered by CFEPS MPC designation 2003 SQ317 Aphelion 45.751 AU (6.8443 Tm) Discovered 23 September 2003 Asteroid family Haumea family | Discovery date September 23, 2003 Observation arc 3698 days (10.12 yr) Perihelion 39.238 AU (5.8699 Tm) Absolute magnitude 6.2 | |
Minor planet category Classical Kuiper belt object (Minor Planet Center) People also search for (308193) 2005 CB79, (86047) 1999 OY3 | ||
2003 SQ317 is a trans-Neptunian object (TNO) that resides in the Kuiper belt that was discovered on September 23, 2005, by the Canada-France Ecliptic Plane Survey (CFEPS). The surface of 2003 SQ317 is made of water ice.
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Physical properties
2003 SQ317 is a small classical Kuiper belt object (cubewano) belonging to the cold population. Its size estimated to lie between 150 and 450 km based on a range of plausible albedos. The object has a large light curve amplitude of about 0.85, which indicates that it has an extremely elongated shape or is a contact binary. In the former case the density of 2003 SQ317 is estimated at about 0.86 g/cm3 and its axis ratios at 0.55 and 0.41. If 2003 SQ317 is a contact binary, which is actually more likely, the density is estimated at about 2.67 g/cm3. In the latter case, the components are also thought to be unequal in size with the mass ratio of about 0.3 and axis ratios of about 0.8 and 0.5, respectively, for the primary and secondary components.
Origin
2003 SQ317 was identified as a member of Haumea family, which is defined based on a common pattern of IR water-ice absorption, neutral visible spectrum and the clustering of the orbital elements. The Haumea family members including 2003 SQ317, (19308) 1996 TO66, (55636) 2002 TX300, (120178) 2003 OP32, (145453) 2005 RR43 and others all appear to be collisional fragments broken off of the dwarf planet Haumea.