(60621) 2000 FE8

(60621) 2000 FE8 is a resonant and binary trans-Neptunian object, approximately 146 kilometers (91 miles) in diameter, located in the outermost region of the Solar System. It was discovered on 27 March 2000, by astronomers John Kavelaars, Brett Gladman, Jean-Marc Petit and Matthew Holman at Mauna Kea Observatory on Hawaii. This distant object resides in an eccentric orbit and is locked in a 2:5 orbital resonance with Neptune. It is known to have a 111-kilometer sized companion, which was discovered in January 2007.[3]

(60621) 2000 FE8
Orbit of (60621) 2000 FE8
Orbit of (60621) 2000 FE8
Discovery[1][2]
Discovered byJ. Kavelaars
B. Gladman
J.-M. Petit
M. Holman
Discovery siteMauna Kea Obs.
Discovery date27 March 2000
Designations
(60621) 2000 FE8
2000 FE8
TNO[1] · res 2:5[3]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 4
Observation arc6.80 yr (2,485 days)
Aphelion78.590 AU
Perihelion33.185 AU
55.888 AU
Eccentricity0.4062
417.81 yr (152,607 days)
30.201°
0° 0m 8.64s / day
Inclination5.8614°
3.8785°
144.17°
Known satellites1, S/2007 (60621) 1[4]
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter
146 km (primary)[4]
111 km (secondary)[4]
Mean density
1 g/cm3[4]
0.09[4]
(yellow-orange) B−V=0.75; V−R=0.48[5]
6.9[1]

    Orbit

    2000 FE8 has an extremely eccentric orbit which crosses the paths of many other trans-Neptunian objects, including almost all of the dwarf planets and dwarf planet candidates. As a result, its position alternates between the Kuiper belt and the scattered disc.[1]

    Resonance with Neptune

    2000 FE8 is part of a group of trans-Neptunian objects that orbit in a 2:5 resonance with Neptune.[6] That means that for every five orbits that Neptune completes, 2000 FE8 makes only two.[3] Several other objects are in the same orbital resonance, the largest of which is (84522) 2002 TC302.

    Satellite

    Like many objects of the Kuiper belt and scattered disc, 2000 FE8 has a satellite. Provisionally designated S/2007 (60621) 1, the satellite was discovered by the Hubble Space Telescope seven years after 2000 FE8 itself was found.[7] The moon orbits at 1180 kilometres away from 2000 FE8, completing one orbit in approximately 7 days.[4] It is thought to be 115 km[4] in diameter, just 75.7% the diameter of 2000 FE8 itself.

    Numbering

    This minor planet was numbered by the Minor Planet Center on 14 June 2003.[8] As of 2021, it has not been named.[2]

    References
    1. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 60621 (2000 FE8)" (2007-01-15 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
    2. "60621 (2000 FE8)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
    3. Johnston, W. R. (5 July 2013). "List of Known Trans-Neptunian Objects". Johnston's Archive. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
    4. Johnston, W. R. (26 November 2008). "(60621) 200 FE8". Johnston's Archive. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
    5. Tegler, S. C.; et al. (2003). "Color patterns in the Kuiper belt: a possible primordial origin" (PDF). Astrophysical Journal. 599 (1): L49–L52. Bibcode:2003ApJ...599L..49T. doi:10.1086/381076. S2CID 119835895. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 September 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
    6. Orbit and Astrometry for 60621
    7. Green, Daniel (3 March 2007). "Circular No. 8816" (PDF). Harvard. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
    8. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
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