A cubewano is a Kuiper belt object, orbiting beyond Pluto and not controlled by resonances with Neptune. Cubewanos, called also Classical Kuiper Belt objects, have semi-major axes in 40-50 AU range and, unlike Pluto, do not cross Neptune’s orbit. The centaurs are a class of icy planetoids that orbit the Sun between Jupiter and Neptune, named after the mythical race of centaurs. ... Adjective Neptunian Atmospheric characteristics Surface pressure ≫100 MPa Hydrogen - H2 80% ±3. ... A trans-Neptunian object (TNO) is any object in the solar system that orbits the sun at a greater distance on average than Neptune. ... Artists rendering of the Kuiper Belt and hypothetical more distant Oort cloud. ... In astronomy, a plutino is a trans-Neptunian object that has a 3:2 orbital resonance with Neptune. ... While a Plutino completes 2 orbits around the Sun in the time it takes Neptune to complete 3 orbits, a Twotino makes 1 orbit around the Sun in the time it takes Neptune to complete 2 orbits. ... 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). ... 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. ... In physics, an orbit is the path that an object makes, around another object, whilst under the influence of a source of centripetal force, such as gravity. ... Adjective Plutonian Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 0. ... In celestial mechanics, an orbital resonance occurs when two orbiting bodies exert a regular, periodic gravitational influence on each other. ... Adjective Neptunian Atmospheric characteristics Surface pressure ≫100 MPa Hydrogen - H2 80% ±3. ... The astronomical unit (AU or au or a. ...

The odd name is derived from the first trans-Neptunian object found, (15760) 1992 QB₁. Later objects were called "QB1-o's", or cubewanos. A trans-Neptunian object (TNO) is any object in the solar system that orbits the sun at a greater distance on average than Neptune. ... (15760) 1992 QB1 (also written (15760) 1992 QB1) was the first trans-Neptunian object to be discovered after Pluto and Charon. ...

Objects identified as cubewanos include:

• (15760) 1992 QB₁
• 2005 FY₉ the largest known cubewano and one of the largest trans-Neptunian objects
• 2003 EL₆₁, notable for its two moons and rapid rotation (3.9h)
• (50000) Quaoar
• (20000) Varuna
• (19521) Chaos
• (53311) Deucalion

(15760) 1992 QB1 (also written (15760) 1992 QB1) was the first trans-Neptunian object to be discovered after Pluto and Charon. ... 2005 FY9 (also written 2005 FY9), codenamed Easterbunny by its discoverers, is a very large Kuiper belt object discovered on March 31, 2005 by the team led by Michael Brown. ... A trans-Neptunian object (TNO) is any object in the solar system that orbits the sun at a greater distance on average than Neptune. ... 2003 EL61 (also written 2003 EL61), nicknamed Santa (non-official designation), is a large and very unusual Kuiper belt object discovered by Mike Brown at Caltech in the United States. ... This article is about the trans-Neptunian object. ... (Redirected from (20000) Varuna) 20000 Varuna (VAR oo na) is a Kuiper Belt object about 1060 kilometers in diameter, estimated from a combination of thermal and optical measurements. ...

Orbits

Large cubewanos and plutinos.

Most classical Kuiper objects are found between the 2:3 orbital resonance with Neptune (populated by plutinos) and the 1:2 resonance. The diagram illustrates larger cubewanos with semi-major axis on X axis. The eccentricity of the orbits is represented by red segments (extending from perihelion to aphelion) with inclination represented on Y axis. In astronomy, a plutino is a trans-Neptunian object that has a 3:2 orbital resonance with Neptune. ... In celestial mechanics, an orbital resonance occurs when two orbiting bodies exert a regular, periodic gravitational influence on each other. ... In astronomy, a plutino is a trans-Neptunian object that has a 3:2 orbital resonance with Neptune. ... The semi-major axis of an ellipse In geometry, the term semi-major axis (also semimajor axis) is used to describe the dimensions of ellipses and hyperbolae. ... Look up Eccentricity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article is about several astronomical terms (apogee & perigee, aphelion & perihelion, generic equivalents based on apsis, and related but rarer terms. ... This article is about several astronomical terms (apogee & perigee, aphelion & perihelion, generic equivalents based on apsis, and related but rarer terms. ... Inclination in general is the angle between a reference plane and another plane or axis of direction. ...

The largest plutinos (Pluto, 90482 Orcus and 28978 Ixion) are also plotted for comparison (in grey). 50000 Quaoar, for example, has a typical, near circular (short red segment), close to the ecliptic orbit. Plutinos on the other hand, have more eccentric orbits bringing some of them closer to the Sun than Neptune (marked as 1:1 resonance). In astronomy, a plutino is a trans-Neptunian object that has a 3:2 orbital resonance with Neptune. ... Adjective Plutonian Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 0. ... 90482 Orcus (originally known by the provisional designation 2004 DW) is a Kuiper Belt object (KBO) that was discovered by Michael Brown of Caltech, Chad Trujillo of the Gemini Observatory, and David Rabinowitz of Yale University. ... (28978) Ixion (ik·sye·un) is a Kuiper belt object discovered on May 22, 2001 with a diameter of < 822 km and a semimajor axis of about 39. ... Artists impression by G. Bacon of STScI / NASA 50000 Quaoar (pronounced kwah·war, kwah·wor, or kwow·ur, Tongva ) [1] is a Trans-Neptunian object orbiting the Sun in the Edgeworth-Kuiper belt. ... The plane of the ecliptic is well seen in this picture from the 1994 lunar prospecting Clementine spacecraft. ... Adjective Neptunian Atmospheric characteristics Surface pressure ≫100 MPa Hydrogen - H2 80% ±3. ...

The majority of objects, so called cold population, have low inclination, near circular orbits. (the brightest: 1997 CS₂₉, 2001 QT₂₉₇ and 2001 QS₃₂₂ are shown on the diagram). A smaller population, named hot, is characterised by highly inclined, more eccentric orbits^[1].

Distribution

Distribution of cubewanos and plutinos.

The distribution of all known cubewanos (532 as of February, 2006) is plotted on the second diagram. The small inserts on the right show histograms for orbit inclinations i (5° interval) and eccentricity e (interval 0.05).¹ The vast majority of objects (more than ²/₃) have inclination < 5° and eccentricity <0.1. The distribution of semi-major axis a, also shown, illustrates the preference for the middle of the main belt; arguably, smaller objects close to the limiting resonances have been either captured into resonance or have their orbits modified by Neptune. In astronomy, a plutino is a trans-Neptunian object that has a 3:2 orbital resonance with Neptune. ... In statistics, a histogram is a graphical display of tabulated frequencies. ...

The inserts on the left side of the diagram compare the populations of cubewanos and plutinos ^[2] using eccentricity versus inclination plots. Each small square represents a given range for both the eccentricity e and the inclination i ². The relative population of objects within this range is represented with ‘cartographic’ colours (from small numbers plotted as green valleys to brown peaks³.

The two populations are quite different: more than 30% of all cubewanos are on low inclination, near circular orbits (the low bottom corner ‘peak’). The parameters of plutinos’ orbits are more evenly distributed with a local maximum in moderate eccentricities in 0.15-0.2 range and low inclinations 5-10°. See also the comparison with scattered disk objects. 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). ...

¹Distribution of plutinos is plotted but excluded from cubewanos’ histograms. ²As near-circular orbits occupy the first column (e<0.05) and the orbits with the lowest inclination (i<5 degrees) occupy the lowest row, the square in the bottom left corner represents the number of near circular, very lowly inclined orbits. ³A grey square represents a single object (an outlier) in this range.

Orbit plots

The orbits of plutinos and classical objects.

The graph on the left represents polar and ecliptic views of the (aligned) orbits of the classical objects (in blue) together with the plutinos (in red)¹. In astronomy, a plutino is a trans-Neptunian object that has a 3:2 orbital resonance with Neptune. ...

The solid blue ring, resulting from hundreds of overlapping orbits of the classical objects, fully deserves the name of the main (classical or cubewanos) belt. Unlike the classical objects with the orbits entirely outside, the plutinos approach, or even cross, the orbit of Neptune (in yellow).

On the ecliptic view, the yellow arc represents Neptune’s orbit (at ~30AU). The perihelion, typically inside Neptune’s orbit for the plutinos, and always safely outside for the cubewanos, is the distinctive attribute between the two families. Hot cubewanos can also be easily distinguished by their inclination, the plutinos typically keeping orbits below 20°.

¹For roughly a half of known TNO the orbits are not yet known with the precision sufficient for the classification (a particularly delicate task for resonant objects).

External links

• David Jewitt's Kuiper Belt site @ University of Hawaii
• The Kuiper Belt Electronic Newsletter
• Minor Planet Center List of Trans-Neptunian objects
• TNO pages atjohnstonarchive
• Plot of the current positions of bodies in the Outer Solar System

David C. Jewitt is a Professor of astronomy at the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy. ... Jean Charlots mural called Commencement is featured at Bachman Hall, the administrative center of the University of Hawai`i System. ...

References

1. ^ D.Jewitt,A.Delsanti The Solar System Beyond The Planets,to appear in the book Solar System Update, Springer-Praxis Ed., Horwood, Blondel and Mason, 2006. Preprint version (pdf)
2. ^ Minor Planet Circular 2005-X77 Distant Minor planets was used for plutinos' orbits classification. The updated data can be found in MPC 2006-D28.

Minor planets, or planetoids are minor bodies of the Solar system orbiting the Sun (or of other planetary systems orbiting other stars) that are larger than meteoroids (the largest of which might be taken to be around 10 meters or so across) but smaller than major planets (Mercury having a... Vulcanoids are hypothetical asteroids that may orbit in a dynamically stable zone between 0. ... Near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) are asteroids whose orbits are close to Earths orbit. ... Image of the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. ... Image of the Trojan asteroids in front of and behind Jupiter along its orbital path. ... The centaurs are a class of icy planetoids that orbit the Sun between Jupiter and Neptune, named after the mythical race of centaurs. ... Damocloids are asteroids such as 5335 Damocles and 1996 PW that have long-period highly eccentric orbits typical of periodic comets such as 1P/Halley, but without showing a cometary coma or tail. ... Comet Hale-Bopp For other uses, see Comet (disambiguation). ... A trans-Neptunian object (TNO) is any object in the solar system that orbits the sun at a greater distance on average than Neptune. ... Artists rendering of the Kuiper Belt and hypothetical more distant Oort cloud. ... 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). ... This image is an artists rendering of the Oort cloud and the Kuiper Belt. ... 243 Ida and its moon Dactyl An asteroid moon is an asteroid that orbits another asteroid. ... The solar system comprises the Earths Sun and the retinue of celestial objects gravitationally bound to it. ... This is a list of numbered asteroids, in sequential order. ... This page alphabetically lists the first thousand asteroids to be numbered, which are mostly in the main belt. ... This is a list of named asteroids, with links to the Wikipedia articles on the people, places, characters and concepts that they are named after. ...