you are abunch of bull | bgcolour=#FFFFC0 | name=90377 Sedna | image= | caption= Sedna is located in the center of the green circle | discovery=yes | discoverer=M. Brown,
C. Trujillo,
D. Rabinowitz | discovered=November 14, 2003 | mp_name=90377 Sedna | alt_names=2003 VB₁₂ | mp_category=Trans-Neptunian object | epoch=September 26, 1990 (JD 2448160.5) | semimajor=7.8629.540×10¹³ m (525.606 AU) | perihelion=1.1392832×10¹³ m (76.156 AU) | aphelion=1.45866248×10¹⁴ m (975.056 AU) | eccentricity=0.855 | period=4401380 d (12050.32 a) | inclination=11.934° | asc_node=144.514° | arg_perihelion=311.122° | mean_anomaly=357.455° | avg_speed=1.04 km/s | physical_characteristics=yes | dimensions=1180–1800 km | radius=590-900? km | mass=1.7-6.1×10²¹ kg | density=2.0? g/cm³ | surface_grav=0.33-0.50 m/s² | escape_velocity=0.62-0.95 km/s | sidereal_day=0.42 d (10 h) ¹ | spectral_type= (red) B-V=1.24; V-R=0.78 ^[1] | abs_magnitude=1.6 | albedo=>0.2? | single_temperature=below 33 K}} 90377 Sedna is a trans-Neptunian object, discovered by Michael Brown (Caltech), Chad Trujillo (Gemini Observatory) and David Rabinowitz (Yale University) on November 14, 2003. At the time of its discovery it was the most distant observed natural solar system body. Sedna may qualify as a dwarf planet pending the detailed definition of that category by the International Astronomical Union. Download high resolution version (874x665, 198 KB)Image of Sedna from BBC web site (http://news. ... Michael (Mike) E. Brown (born c. ... Chadwick A. Chad Trujillo (born November 22, 1973), is the co-discoverer of Eris, which he claims to be the Tenth Planet. ... David L. Rabinowitz (born 1960) is a professor at Yale University researching the Kuiper belt and the outer solar system. ... November 14 is the 318th day of the year (319th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 47 days remaining. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A trans-Neptunian object (TNO) is any object in the solar system that orbits the sun at a greater distance on average than Neptune. ... September 26 is the 269th day of the year (270th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... MCMXC redirects here; for the Enigma album, see MCMXC a. ... The Julian day or Julian day number (JDN) is the (integer) number of days that have elapsed since Monday, January 1, 4713 BC in the proleptic Julian calendar [1]. That day is counted as Julian day zero. ... The or meter (see spelling differences) is a measure of length. ... The astronomical unit (AU or au or a. ... Look up day in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In astronomy, a Julian year is a unit of time defined as exactly 365. ... A degree (in full, a degree of arc, arc degree, or arcdegree), usually symbolized °, is a measurement of plane angle, representing 1／360 of a full rotation. ... Look up second in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... km redirects here. ... The U.S. National Prototype Kilogram, which currently serves as the primary standard for measuring mass in the U.S. It was assigned to the United States in 1889 and is periodically recertified and traceable to the primary international standard, The Kilogram, held at the Bureau International des Poids et... A cubic centimetre (cm3) is an SI derived unit of volume, equal to the volume of a cube with side length of 1 centi metre. ... The kelvin (symbol: K) is a unit increment of temperature and is one of the seven SI base units. ... A trans-Neptunian object (TNO) is any object in the solar system that orbits the sun at a greater distance on average than Neptune. ... Michael (Mike) E. Brown (born c. ... The California Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Caltech)[1] is a private, coeducational university located in Pasadena, California, in the United States. ... Chadwick A. Chad Trujillo (born November 22, 1973), is the co-discoverer of Eris, which he claims to be the Tenth Planet. ... The Gemini Observatory is an astronomical observatory consisting of two 8-metre telescopes at different sites. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... “Yale” redirects here. ... November 14 is the 318th day of the year (319th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 47 days remaining. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Major features of the Solar System (not to scale; from left to right): Pluto, Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter, the asteroid belt, the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth and its Moon, and Mars. ... Artists impression of Pluto (background) and Charon (foreground). ... Logo of the IAU The International Astronomical Union (French: Union astronomique internationale) unites national astronomical societies from around the world. ...

General information

Sedna was discovered during a survey conducted with the Samuel Oschin telescope at Palomar Observatory near San Diego, California (USA) using Yale's 160 megapixel Palomar Quest camera and was observed within days on telescopes from Chile, Spain, and the USA (Arizona, and Hawaii). NASA's orbiting Spitzer Space Telescope was also pointed toward the object, but could not detect it — putting an upper-bound on its diameter at roughly three-quarters that of Pluto. The Samuel Oschin telescope is a 48-inch (1. ... Palomar Observatory is a privately-owned observatory located in San Diego County, California, 90 miles (145 km) southeast of Mount Wilson Observatory, on Palomar Mountain. ... Nickname: Location of San Diego within San Diego County Coordinates: Country United States State California County San Diego Founded July 16, 1769 Incorporated March 27, 1850 Government  - Mayor Jerry Sanders  - City Attorney Michael Aguirre  - City Council Scott Peters Kevin Faulconer Toni Atkins Tony Young Brian Maienschein Donna Frye Jim Madaffer... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... A telescope (from the Greek tele = far and skopein = to look or see; teleskopos = far-seeing) is an instrument designed for the observation of remote objects. ... Official language(s) English Capital Phoenix Largest city Phoenix Area  Ranked 6th  - Total 113,998 sq mi (295,254 km²)  - Width 310 miles (500 km)  - Length 400 miles (645 km)  - % water 0. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... NASA Logo Listen to this article · (info) This audio file was created from the revision dated 2005-09-01, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ... The Spitzer Space Telescope (formerly the Space Infrared Telescope Facility [SIRTF]) is an infrared space observatory, the fourth and final of NASAs Great Observatories. ... DIAMETER is an AAA protocol (Authentication, Authorization and Accounting) succeeding its predecessor RADIUS. // The name is a pun on the RADIUS protocol, which is the predecessor (a diameter is twice the radius). ... Adjectives: Plutonian Atmosphere Surface pressure: 0. ...

The object is named after Sedna, the Inuit goddess of the sea, who was believed to live in the cold depths of the Arctic Ocean. Before Sedna was officially named it had provisional designation 2003 VB₁₂. This article is about the Inuit goddess. ... Inuit mythology has many similarities to the religions of other polar regions. ... The provisional designation of comets and asteroids are similar to each other: they both follow a pattern set in 1925 by the Minor Planet Center of the IAU. Historical designations At first, astronomers strove to assign symbols to the minor planets: 1 Ceres a stylized sickle 2 Pallas a lozenge...

Orbital characteristics

Panels showing the location of Sedna in relation to other astronomical objects. Image courtesy of NASA / JPL-Caltech / R. Hurt

Sedna has a highly elliptical orbit, with its aphelion estimated at 975 AU and its perihelion at about 76.16 AU. At its discovery it was approaching perihelion at about 90 AU from the Sun. It was the farthest from the Sun that any solar system object had up to then been observed, although some objects like long-period comets originally observed at closer distances were most likely further from the Sun than Sedna but too dim to be observed. Eris was later detected at 97 AU. This NASA diagram demonstrates the presumed distance of the Oort cloud compared to the solar systems planets, the Kuiper belt, and the 90377 Sedna planetoid. ... This NASA diagram demonstrates the presumed distance of the Oort cloud compared to the solar systems planets, the Kuiper belt, and the 90377 Sedna planetoid. ... For other uses, see Ellipse (disambiguation). ... m. ... This article is about several astronomical terms (apogee & perigee, aphelion & perihelion, generic equivalents based on apsis, and related but rarer terms. ... The astronomical unit (AU or au or a. ... This article is about several astronomical terms (apogee & perigee, aphelion & perihelion, generic equivalents based on apsis, and related but rarer terms. ... The Sun (Latin: Sol) is the star at the center of the Solar System. ... Absolute magnitude: −1. ...

Sedna's orbit takes about 12,000 years. It will reach perihelion in 2075 or 2076. A year (from Old English gēr) is the time between two recurrences of an event related to the orbit of the Earth around the Sun. ... This article is about several astronomical terms (apogee & perigee, aphelion & perihelion, generic equivalents based on apsis, and related but rarer terms. ...

When first discovered, Sedna was believed to have an unusually long rotational period (20 to 50 days). A search was thus made for a natural satellite, the most likely cause for such a long rotation, but investigation by the Hubble Space Telescope in March 2004 observed no such object orbiting the planetoid. New measurements from the MMT telescope suggest a much shorter rotation period, only about 10 hours, rather typical for bodies of its size.^[2] A natural satellite is an object that orbits a planet or other body larger than itself and which is not man-made. ... The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a telescope in orbit around the Earth, named after astronomer Edwin Hubble. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

A study done by Hal Levison and Alessandro Morbidelli of the Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur (OCA) in Nice, France, suggested that the most likely explanation for Sedna's orbit was that it had been perturbed by a close (~800 AU) pass by another star in the first 100 million years or so of the solar system's existence, possibly one of the other stars that formed out of the same collapsing nebula as the Sun.^[3] They proposed another, less probable scenario that managed to explain Sedna's orbit very well —Sedna could have formed around a brown dwarf about 20 times less massive than the Sun and have been captured by the solar system when the brown dwarf passed through it. The Côte dAzur Observatory was founded in 1988, by the merger of two observatories: Nice Observatory The CERGA (Centre dEtudes et de Recherches Géodynamiques et Astronomiques) External links Côte dAzur Observatory official website (English version) ... Night view along the Promenade des Anglais This article is about the city. ... This brown dwarf (smaller object) orbits the star Gliese 229, which is located in the constellation Lepus about 19 light years from Earth. ... Major features of the Solar System (not to scale; from left to right): Pluto, Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter, the asteroid belt, the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth and its Moon, and Mars. ...

Another possible explanation, advanced by Gomes, involves perturbations of Sedna's orbit by a hypothetical distant ‘planet’ (a planetary-sized companion in the inner Oort cloud). Recent simulations show that Sedna's orbit characteristics could be explained by perturbations by a Neptune-mass object at 2000 AU (or less), a Jupiter-mass at 5000AU or even an Earth-mass object at 1000AU.^[4] This image is an artists rendering of the Oort cloud and the Kuiper Belt. ...

Another object, 2000 CR₁₀₅, has an orbit similar to Sedna's but a bit less extreme: perihelion is 44.3 AU, aphelion is 394 AU, and the orbital period is 3240 years. Its orbit may have resulted from the same processes that produced Sedna's orbit. 2000 CR105 is the third most distant known object in the solar system after 2003 UB313 and 90377 Sedna. ...

Physical characteristics

Sedna compared to Eris, Pluto, (136472) 2005 FY₉, (136108) 2003 EL₆₁, Varuna, Orcus, Quaoar, and Earth.

Sedna has an estimated diameter of between 1180 and 1800 kilometres (730 to 1120 miles). At the time of its discovery it was the largest object found in the solar system since Pluto was discovered in 1930. It is now generally believed to be the 5th largest known trans-Neptunian object after Eris, Pluto, 2005 FY₉, and 2003 EL₆₁. Sedna is so far from the Sun that the temperature never rises above 33 kelvins (−240 °C; −400 °F). Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2750x1995, 1859 KB) Summary Comparison of the eight largest TNOs, based on the public domain NASA image: Image:2006-16-d-print. ... To help compare different orders of magnitude this page lists lengths between 106 and 107 m (1,000 and 10,000 km). ... Major features of the Solar System (not to scale; from left to right): Pluto, Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter, the asteroid belt, the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth and its Moon, and Mars. ... A trans-Neptunian object (TNO) is any object in the solar system that orbits the sun at a greater distance on average than Neptune. ... Eris (IPA or ), officially designated 136199 Eris, is the largest known dwarf planet in the solar system. ... Adjectives: Plutonian Atmosphere Surface pressure: 0. ... (also written (136472) 2005 FY9) is a very large Kuiper belt object discovered on March 31, 2005 by the team led by Michael Brown. ... (also written (136108) 2003 EL61), nicknamed Santa, is a large Kuiper belt object, roughly one-third the mass of Pluto, discovered by Mike Browns group at Caltech in the United States and J. L. Ortiz et al. ... The kelvin (symbol: K) is a unit increment of temperature and is one of the seven SI base units. ... Celsius is, or relates to, the Celsius temperature scale (previously known as the centigrade scale). ... Fahrenheit is a temperature scale named after the German physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736), who proposed it in 1724. ...

Observations from Chile show that Sedna is one of the reddest objects in the solar system, nearly as red as Mars. Unlike Pluto and Charon, Sedna appears to have very little methane ice or water ice on its surface; Chad Trujillo and his colleagues at the Gemini Observatory in Hawaii suggest that Sedna's dark red color is caused by a hydrocarbon sludge, or tholin, like that found on 5145 Pholus.^[5] Its surface is homogeneous in colour and spectrum; this is probably because Sedna, unlike objects nearer the sun, is rarely impacted by other bodies, which would expose bright patches like that on 8405 Asbolus.^[6] Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the solar system, named after the Roman god of war (the counterpart of the Greek Ares), on account of its blood red color as viewed in the night sky. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Oil refineries are key to obtaining hydrocarbons; crude oil is processed through several stages to form desirable hydrocarbons, used in fuel and other commercial products. ... Tholin is a heteropolymer formed by solar ultraviolet irradiation of simple organic compounds such as methane or ethane. ... 5145 Pholus (FOE luss) is a Centaur in an eccentric orbit, with a perihelion near the orbit of Saturn and aphelion near the orbit of Neptune. ... 8405 Asbolus is a Centaur, that is, an icy asteroid that orbits between Jupiter and Neptune. ...

Sedna's and Triton's spectra have been recently compared suggesting the following common model of the surface: 24% Triton tholin, 7% amorphous carbon, 26% methanol ice with 33% methane.^[7] Triton (trye-tÉ™n, IPA: , Greek Τρίτων), or Neptune I, is the planet Neptunes largest moon. ... Tholin is a heteropolymer formed by solar ultraviolet irradiation of simple organic compounds such as methane or ethane. ... Amorphous carbon is the name used for carbon that does not have any crystalline structure. ... Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, carbinol, wood alcohol, wood naptha or wood spirits, is a chemical compound with chemical formula CH3OH. It is the simplest alcohol, and is a light, volatile, colourless, flammable, poisonous liquid with a distinctive odor that is somewhat milder and sweeter than ethanol (ethyl alcohol). ... Methane is a chemical compound with the molecular formula CH4. ...

Classification

The discoverers have argued that Sedna is actually the first observed body belonging to the Oort cloud, saying that it is too far out to be considered a Kuiper belt object. Because it is a great deal closer to the Sun than was expected for an Oort cloud object, and has an inclination roughly in line with the planets and the Kuiper belt, they described the planetoid as being an inner Oort cloud object, situated in the disc reaching from the Kuiper belt to the spherical part of the cloud. This image is an artists rendering of the Oort cloud and the Kuiper Belt. ... Artists rendering of the Kuiper Belt and hypothetical more distant Oort cloud. ... Inclination in general is the angle between a reference plane and another plane or axis of direction. ... Planetoid (meaning planet-like) is an old synonym of asteroid. ...

A number of explanations have been put forward since, including a passing star^[3][8] and a distant, planet-sized object.^[4]

Sedna, together with a few other objects discovered since (e.g. 2000 CR₁₀₅), prompted suggestions of a new category of distant objects named Extended scattered disc (E-SDO),^[9] detached objects,^[10] Distant Detached Objects (DDO)^[4] or Scattered-Extended in the formal classification by Deep Ecliptic Survey.^[11] 2000 CR105 is the third most distant known object in the solar system after 2003 UB313 and 90377 Sedna. ... The Deep Ecliptic Survey is a project to find Kuiper belt objects, using the facilities of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory. ...

The last classification, introduces a formal distinction between Scattered-Near objects (which could be scattered by Neptune) e.g. Eris from Scattered-Extended objects like Sedna. The distinction is made formally, using the orbital elements (see Tisserand's parameter). Eris (IPA or ), officially designated 136199 Eris, is the largest known dwarf planet in the solar system. ... In Celestial Mechanics, Tisserand’s parameter is a combination of orbital elements used in a restricted three-body problem. ...

The discovery of Sedna had also resurrected the question of which astronomical objects should be considered planets and which should not. On March 15, 2004, articles in the popular press reported that "the tenth planet has been discovered". This question was answered under the new International Astronomical Union definition of a planet, adopted on August 24, 2006. Sedna may be made a candidate for consideration as a dwarf planet. It is not, however, considered to be a planet.
The eight planets and three dwarf planets of the Solar System. ... March 15 is the 74th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (75th in leap years). ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Logo of the IAU The International Astronomical Union (French: Union astronomique internationale) unites national astronomical societies from around the world. ... Photograph of the planet Neptune and its moon Triton, taken by Voyager 2 as it entered the outer solar system. ... August 24 is the 236th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (237th in leap years), with 129 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... Artists impression of Pluto (background) and Charon (foreground). ...

See also

• Scattered disk
• Asteroid
• Kuiper belt
• Oort cloud
• Planet
• Definition of planet
• Planet X – a hypothetical planet beyond Neptune which does not match the characteristics of Sedna
• Plutino
• protoplanetary disc – Sedna's orbit appears to imply a similar origin to the planets and asteroids.
• 50000 Quaoar – a planetoid beyond Pluto's orbit, discovered in 2002.
• Trans-Neptunian object – an object beyond Neptune's orbit

The scattered disc (or scattered disk) is a distant region of our solar system, thinly populated by icy planetoids known as scattered disk objects (SDOs), a subset of the broader family of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs). ... It has been suggested that minor planet be merged into this article or section. ... Artists rendering of the Kuiper Belt and hypothetical more distant Oort cloud. ... This image is an artists rendering of the Oort cloud and the Kuiper Belt. ... The eight planets and three dwarf planets of the Solar System. ... Photograph of the planet Neptune and its moon Triton, taken by Voyager 2 as it entered the outer solar system. ... Planet X is a large hypothetical planet with an orbit beyond that of Neptune. ... In astronomy, a plutino is a trans-Neptunian object that has a 3:2 orbital resonance with Neptune. ... A protoplanetary disc (also protoplanetary disk, proplyd) is an accretion disc surrounding a T Tauri star. ... 50000 Quaoar (pronounced kwaa·waar or kwow·ər, English IPA: , Tongva ) [2] is a Trans-Neptunian object orbiting the Sun in the Kuiper belt. ... A trans-Neptunian object (TNO) is any object in the solar system that orbits the sun at a greater distance on average than Neptune. ...

References

For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... November 5 is the 309th day of the year (310th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 56 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... March 5 is the 64th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (65th in leap years). ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... September 15 is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ... David C. Jewitt is a Professor of astronomy at the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy. ...

Bibliography

• Discovery of a candidate inner Oort cloud planetoid (Brown et.al., submitted to ApJ Letters, 16 March 2004)
• Hurt, Robert. Artist's Concept of Sedna. California, USA: Infrared Processing and Analysis Center. 15 March 2004.
• Hurt, Robert. Sedna's Orbit Comparisons. California, USA: Infrared Processing and Analysis Center. 15 March 2004.
• JPL. Most Distant Object in Solar System Discovered. Press release: Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 15 March 2004.
• Whitehourse, David. Sedna has no moon, say astronomers. BBC News. 14 April 2004.

March 16 is the 75th day of the year (76th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... March 15 is the 74th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (75th in leap years). ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... March 15 is the 74th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (75th in leap years). ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... March 15 is the 74th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (75th in leap years). ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... April 14 is the 104th day of the year (105th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 261 days remaining. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Sedna

• NASA's Sedna page
• Mike Brown's Sedna page
• Official press release by NASA JPL/SCC
• Astronomy Picture of the Day 04 July 2004 – Artist's rendering of view from Sedna
• Scenarios for the Origin of the Orbits of the Trans-Neptunian Objects 2000 CR₁₀₅ and 2003 VB₁₂ (Sedna) by Alessandro Morbidelli and Harold F. Levison
• MPEC 2004-S73: Comment on the naming of Sedna
• Distant Object Could Hold Secrets to Earth's Past
• Sedna on The Nine Planets Solar System Tour
• Hubblesite image April 14, 2004

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