The Extreme Kuiper Belt Binary 2001 QW322

Jean-Marc C. Petit (1) , J. Kavelaars , B. Gladman (2) , J. Margot , P. Nicholson , R. Jones , J. Wm. Parker (3) , M. Ashby (4) , A. Bagatin , P. Benavidez (5) , J. Coffey , P. Rousselot (1) , O. Mousis (1) , P. Taylor

1 UTINAM - Univers, Transport, Interfaces, Nanostructures, Atmosphère et environnement, Molécules (UMR 6213)
2 CASSIOPEE - Laboratoire de Cosmologie, Astrophysique Stellaire & Solaire, de Planétologie et de Mécanique des Fluides
3 Department of Space Studies [Boulder]
4 DLO Winand Staring Centre
5 DFESTS - Departamento de Fisica, Ingenieria de Sistemas y Teoria de la Señal [Alicante]

orbit determination of 2001 QW 322 , a Kuiper Belt binary with a very large separation whose properties challenge binary-formation and evolution theories. Six years of tracking indicate that the binary's mutual orbit period is ≈25-30 years, that the orbit pole is retrograde and inclined 50-62 • from the ecliptic plane, and, most surprisingly, that the mutual orbital eccentricity is < 0.4. The semimajor axis of 105,000-135,000 km is 10 times that of other near-equal mass binaries. Because this weakly bound binary is prone to or-bital disruption by interlopers, its lifetime in its present state is likely less than 1

Domaines: Planétologie et astrophysique de la terre [astro-ph.EP]

Jean-Marc C. Petit, J. Kavelaars, B. Gladman, J. Margot, P. Nicholson, et al.. The Extreme Kuiper Belt Binary 2001 QW322. Science, 2008, 322 (5900), pp.432-434. ⟨10.1126/science.1163148⟩. ⟨hal-02374710⟩