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Discovery of a low-eccentricity, high-inclination Kuiper belt object at 58 AU

R. L. Allen, B. Gladman, J. J. Kavelaars, J-M. Petite, J. Wm. Parker, P. Nicholson

astro-pharXiv:astro-ph/0512430

Abstract

We report the discovery of the first trans-neptunian object, designated 2004 XR190, with a nearly-cirular orbit beyond the 2:1 mean-motion resonance. Fitting an orbit to 23 astrometric observations spread out over 12 months yields an orbit of a=57.20.4, e=0.080.04, and i=46.6 deg. All viable orbits have perihelia distances q>49 AU. The very high orbital inclination of this extended scattered disk object might be explained by several models, but its existence again points to a large as-yet undiscovered population of transneptunian objects with large orbital perihelia and inclination.

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