Home > 20000 Varuna
Trans-Neptunian objects20000 Varuna ("VAIR uh nuh") is a Kuiper Belt object about 1060 kilometers in diameter, estimated from a combination of thermal and optical measurements.
| Varuna |
| Orbital characteristics |
|---|
| Orbit type | Kuiper belt |
| Semimajor axis | 43.129 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.051 |
| Orbital period | 283 Years |
| Inclination | 17.2° |
| Physical characteristics |
|---|
| Diameter | 1060(+180/-220) km |
| Density | ~1 g/ cm3 |
| Rotation periodIn astronomy, a rotation period is the time an astronomical object takes to complete one revolution around its rotation axis. See also Synchronous rotation. | 3.17 or 6.34 hourIn modern usage, an hour is defined as a unit of time 60 minutes, or 3600 seconds in length. It is approximately 1/24 of a median Earth day. There is also the hour of right ascension a unit of both time and angle. Earlier definitions of the hour: One twels |
| AlbedoNote: This article discusses the physical or planetological property of albedo. For other usage, see Albedo (disambiguation). The albedo is a measure of reflectivity of a surface or body. It is the ratio of electromagnetic radiation reflected to the amoun | 0.038(+0.022/-0.010) |
| History |
|---|
| Discoverer | R. S. McMillanRobert S. McMillan is an astronomer at the University of Arizona, and heads the Spacewatch project, which studies minor planets. He has made various discoveries, including notably 20000 Varuna. McMillan, Robert S. ( SpacewatchSpacewatch is a project at the University of Arizona that specializes in the study of minor planets, and including various types of asteroids and comets. The project leader is Dr. Spacewatch discovered a moon of Jupiter, now named Callirrhoe, which was or), 2000This page is about the year 2000. See 2000 AD for the UK comic book, Number 2000 for other uses. 2000 is a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar), and also the International Year for a Culture of Peace''. Events Y2K passes without the seri |
Little is known about Varuna. It has a rotational period of approximately 3.17 hours (or 6.34 hours, depending on whether the light curveIn astronomy, a light curve is a graph of light intensity as a function of time. The light is usually in a particular frequency interval or band. Light curves can be periodic, as in the case of eclipsing binaries, cepheid variables and other variables, or is single or double-peaked). It has a density of approximately 1 g/cm3 (as dense as waterDrinking water This article focuses on water as we experience it every day. The water (molecule) article describes water from a scientific and technical perspective. Water is an abundant substance on Earth. It exists in many forms, such as sea, rain, and), which implies that it may not be a fully solid body [1].
It is named after the Hindu god Varuna. It previously had the systematic name 2000 WR106.
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