2020 VN40
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovery site | Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) on Maunakea |
| Discovery date | August 2020 |
| Designations | |
| 2020 VN40 | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch 5 May 2025 (JD 2460800.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 2 | |
| Observation arc | 6.36 yr |
| Earliest precovery date | 2017-09-22 |
| Aphelion | 241.7 AU (barycentric)[1] 250.93 (heliocentric) |
| Perihelion | 38.26 AU[2] |
| 139.95±0.05 AU (barycentric)[3][1] 144.61 AU (heliocentric) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.73521 |
| 1655 yr (barycentric)[1] 1740 yr (heliocentric) | |
| 355.75° | |
| Inclination | 33.374° |
| 197.25° | |
| December 2045[2] | |
| 262.67° | |
| Neptune MOID | 17.79 AU |
| Physical characteristics | |
| ≈ 90 km (assuming albedo of 0.09) | |
| 8.56±0.23 | |
2020 VN40 is a resonant trans-Neptunian object on a highly inclined and eccentric orbit in the scattered disc region of the Solar System. It was originally discovered in 2020 and first reported in 2025. It orbits in a 1:10 orbital resonance with Neptune, where it completes exactly one orbit for every ten orbits by Neptune.[3][4] It orbits the Sun at an average distance of 139.95±0.05 AU,[3] and takes 1,655 years (604,400 d) to orbit the Sun.[1] The orbital resonance should be stable for tens of millions of years.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "JPL Horizons Barycentric solution for 2020 VN40". JPL Horizons On-Line Ephemeris System. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 2025-07-17. Solution using the Solar System Barycenter. Ephemeris Type: Elements and Center: @0)
- ^ a b "Perihelion in December 2045". JPL Horizons. Retrieved 18 July 2025. (when rdot = 0)
- ^ a b c d Pike, Rosemary E.; Murray-Clay, Ruth; Volk, Kathryn; Alexandersen, Mike; Comte, Mark; Lawler, Samantha M.; Chen, Ying-Tung; Hermosillo Ruiz, Arcelia; Semenchuck, Cameron; Collyer, Cameron; Kavelaars, J. J.; Peltier, Lowell (2025). "L i DO: Discovery of a 10:1 Resonator with a Novel Libration State". The Planetary Science Journal. 6 (7): 156. Bibcode:2025PSJ.....6..156P. doi:10.3847/PSJ/addd22.
- ^ Buckley, C. (July 2025). "Rare distant object 2020 VN40 found in perfect sync with Neptune". Phys.org. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
External links
[edit]- 2020 VN40 at the JPL Small-Body Database
