2010 EU65

2010 EU65 is a centaur, approximately 64 kilometers (40 miles) in diameter, orbiting the Sun in the outer Solar System. The object is also a promising Uranus horseshoe librator candidate.[8] It was first observed on 13 March 2010, by American astronomers David Rabinowitz and Suzanne Tourtellotte, observing from Cerro Tololo and La Silla Observatory in Chile.[1][2][3] As of 2021, it has neither been numbered nor named.[1]

2010 EU65
Discovery[1][2][3]
Discovered byD. Rabinowitz
S. Tourtellotte
Discovery siteLa Silla Obs.
Discovery date13 March 2010
(First observed only)
Designations
2010 EU65
centaur[4][5][6]
Orbital characteristics[4]
Epoch 1 July 2021 (JD 2459396.5)
Uncertainty parameter 3[4] · 2[1]
Observation arc10.12 yr (3,698 d)
Aphelion22.939 AU
Perihelion17.009 AU
19.974 AU
Eccentricity0.1484
89.27 yr (32,606 d)
0.1061°
0° 0m 39.6s / day
Inclination14.572°
4.6718°
21 June 2021[lower-alpha 1]
240.15°
TJupiter2.94
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter
64 km (est. at 0.09)[5]
21.71[7]
9.1[1][4]

    Orbit and classification

    2010 EU65 is classified as a centaur, a group of non-resonant small Solar System bodies whose orbit around the Sun lie typically between the orbits of Jupiter and Neptune (5 to 30 AU). Centaurs are minor planets with characteristics of comets, and often classified as such. The dynamical group is formed due to Neptune's eroding effect on the Kuiper belt by means of gravitational scattering, sending objects inward to become centaurs, or outward to become scattered-disc objects, or removing them from the Solar System entirely. Centaurs themselves have unstable orbits with short lifetimes, transitioning from the inactive population of Kuiper belt objects to the active group of Jupiter-family comets within approximately one million years.

    It orbits the Sun at a distance of 17.0–22.9 AU once every 89 years and 3 months (32,606 days; semi-major axis of 19.97 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.15 and an inclination of 15° with respect to the ecliptic. It has a Tisserand's parameter with respect to Jupiter (TJ) of 2.94, near the threshold of 3, typically used to distinguish asteroids from Jupiter-family comets.[4] On 21 June 2021, the object came to perihelion at 17.0 AU and has since been moving away from the Sun.[lower-alpha 1] As of 2021 the object is at 17.009 AU, with a apparent magnitude of 21.71.[7] The body's observation arc begins with a precovery observation taken by the Mount Lemmon Survey in April 2009.[1]

    Uranus horseshoe candidate

    Based on its current heliocentric orbit, 2010 EU65 follows a horseshoe orbit around Uranus' L3 point. Giving the fact that its orbit is, at present, poorly determined, the object is a promising Uranus horseshoe orbiter candidate.[8]

    Physical properties

    2010 EU65 has an absolute magnitude of 9.1. Based on a generic magnitude-to-diameter conversion, it measures approximately 64 kilometers (40 miles) in diameter assuming an albedo of 0.09.[5]

    See also

    Notes
    1. JPL Horizons Observer Location: @sun (Perihelion occurs when deldot changes from negative to positive.)

    References
    1. "2010 EU65". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
    2. "List Of Centaurs and Scattered-Disk Objects". Minor Planet Center. 10 August 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
    3. "2010 EU65". Minor Planet Electronic Circular. 30 April 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
    4. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2010 EU65)" (2019-06-06 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
    5. Johnston, Wm. Robert (18 August 2020). "List of Known Trans-Neptunian Objects". Johnston's Archive. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
    6. Buie, Marc. "The Deep Ecliptic Survey Object Classifications". Southwest Research Institute. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
    7. "Asteroid 2010 EU65". AstDyS-2, Asteroids – Dynamic Site. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
    8. de la Fuente Marcos, C.; de la Fuente Marcos, R. (March 2013). "Crantor, a short-lived horseshoe companion to Uranus". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 551: A114. arXiv:1301.0770. Bibcode:2013A&A...551A.114D. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201220646. ISSN 0004-6361. S2CID 118531188.
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