Weywot
 An artist's rendition of Quaoar and its satellite, Weywot | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Michael E. Brown |
| Discovery date | February 22, 2007 |
| Designations | |
Designation | (50000) Quaoar I Weywot |
| Pronunciation | /ˈweɪwɒt/ |
| S/2006 (50000) 1 | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| ~14 500 km | |
| Eccentricity | 0.14 ± 0.04 |
| 12.438 ± 0.005 d | |
| Inclination | 14±4 or 150±4 (two solutions) |
| Satellite of | Quaoar |
| Physical characteristics | |
Equatorial radius | 40 ± 5 km[2] ~37 km (12:1)[1] |
| ~24.9 | |
Weywot, officially (50000) Quaoar I Weywot, is the only known moon of the trans-Neptunian object Quaoar. Its discovery by Michael E. Brown was reported in IAUC 8812 on 22 February 2007, based on imagery taken on 14 February 2006.[3][4] The satellite was found at 0.35 arcsec from Quaoar with an apparent magnitude difference of 5.6.[5] It orbits at a distance of 14,500 km from the primary and has an orbital eccentricity of about 0.14.[1] Assuming an equal albedo and density to the primary, the apparent magnitude suggests that the moon has a diameter of about 74 km (1:12 of Quaoar).[1] Brown believes it is likely to be a collisional fragment of Quaoar, which he speculates lost much of its ice mantle in the process.[6] Weywot is estimated to only have 1:2000 the mass of Quaoar.[1]
Name
Upon discovery, Weywot was issued a provisional designation, S/2006 (50000) 1. Brown left the choice of a name up to the Tongva (whose creator god Quaoar had been named after), who chose the sky god Weywot, son of Quaoar.[7] The name was made official in MPC #67220 published on October 4, 2009.
References
- ^ a b c d e Brown, Michael E.; Fraser, Wesley C. (2010). "Quaoar: A Rock in the Kuiper belt". The Astrophysical Journal. 714 (2): 1547. arXiv:1003.5911. Bibcode:2010ApJ...714.1547F. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/714/2/1547.
- ^ Fornasier et al. (2013)
- ^ Daniel W. E. Green (2007-02-22). "IAUC 8812: Sats of 2003 AZ84, (50000), (55637), (90482)". International Astronomical Union Circular. Retrieved 2011-07-05.
- ^ Wm. Robert Johnston (2008-11-25). "(50000) Quaoar". Johnston's Archive. Retrieved 2009-05-26.
- ^ Distant EKO The Kuiper Belt Electronic newsletter, March 2007
- ^ Brown, M.E.; Fraser, Wesley (2009). Quaoar: A Rock in the Kuiper Belt. DPS meeting #41. American Astronomical Society. Bibcode:2009DPS....41.6503F. (Backup reference)
- ^ "Heavenly Bodies and the People of the Earth", Nick Street, Search Magazine, July/August 2008