(528219) 2008 KV42
(528219) 2008 KV42 (provisional designation: 2008 KV42; nicknamed Drac) is a trans-Neptunian object and the first one with a retrograde orbit to be discovered. This retrograde motion with an orbital inclination of 103° suggests that it is the missing link between its source in the Hills cloud and Halley-type comets, thus providing further insight into the evolution of the outer Solar System. The object measures approximately 77 kilometers (48 miles) in diameter. With a semi-major axis of 42 AU, it takes about 269 years to complete an orbit around the Sun.
The orbit of 2008 KV42 is nearly perpendicular to the ecliptic | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by |
|
| Discovery site | Mauna Kea Obs. |
| Discovery date | 31 May 2008 |
| Designations | |
MPC designation | (528219) 2008 KV42 |
Alternative designations | 2008 KV42 · Drac |
Minor planet category | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch 1 July 2021 (JD 2459396.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 3 · 1 | |
| Observation arc | 12.20 yr (4,456 d) |
| Aphelion | 62.917 AU |
| Perihelion | 21.152 AU |
Semi-major axis | 42.035 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.4968 |
Orbital period (sidereal) | 272.53 yr (99,543 d) |
Mean anomaly | 341.23° |
Mean motion | 0° 0m 12.96s / day |
| Inclination | 103.41° |
Longitude of ascending node | 260.91° |
| 132.61° | |
| Uranus MOID | 4.26 AU |
| TJupiter | -1.0210 |
| Physical characteristics | |
Mean diameter | 77 km (est. at 0.09) |
| 22.89 | |
| 8.8 | |
Officially discovered on 31 May 2008, the discovery was announced on 16 July 2008, by the Canada–France Ecliptic Plane Survey team led by Brett Gladman. The discovery team nicknamed 2008 KV42 "Drac" after Count Dracula.