Journal
ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS
Volume 838, Issue 1, Pages -Publisher
IOP PUBLISHING LTD
DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/aa6484
Keywords
astrometry; Kuiper belt objects: individual (2007OR10); methods: observational; minor planets, asteroids: general; techniques: photometric
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Funding
- Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc [NAS5-26555]
- MAST for non-HST data, NASA Office of Space Science [NNX09AF08G]
- European Unions Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme [687378]
- National Research, Development and Innovation Office (Hungary) [GINOP-2.3.2-15-2016-00003]
- Hungarian Academy of Sciences [LP2012-31]
- Spanish grant [AYA-2014-56637-C21-P]
- Proyecto de Excelencia de la Junta de Andaluca [2012-FQM1776]
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2007 OR10 is currently the third largest known dwarf planet in the trans-Neptunian region, with an effective radiometric diameter of similar to 1535 km. It has a slow rotation period of similar to 45 hr that was suspected to be caused by tidal interactions with a satellite undetected at that time. Here, we report on the discovery of a likely moon of 2007 OR10, identified on archival Hubble Space Telescope WFC3/UVIS system images. Although the satellite is detected at two epochs, this does not allow an unambiguous determination of the orbit and the orbital period. A feasible 1.5-5.8 . 10(21) kg estimate for the system mass leads to a likely 35-100 day orbital period. The moon is about 4(m).2 fainter than 2007 OR10 in HST images that corresponds to a diameter of 237 km assuming equal albedos with the primary. Due to the relatively small size of the moon, the previous size and albedo estimates for the primary remains unchanged. With this discovery all trans-Neptunian objects larger than 1000 km are now known to harbor satellites, an important constraint for moon formation theories in the young solar system.
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