Orcus

E80084

Orcus is a large trans-Neptunian dwarf-planet candidate in the Kuiper Belt, often considered a "twin" of Pluto due to its similar size, orbit, and composition.

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Statements (46)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Kuiper belt object
dwarf-planet candidate
plutino
trans-Neptunian object
absoluteMagnitude about 2.3
albedo approximately 0.23
aphelionDistance approximately 48.1 astronomical units
belongsToDynamicalClass plutino
resonant Kuiper belt object
celestialBodyType icy trans-Neptunian object
classificationStatus dwarf-planet candidate
density about 1.5 g/cm³
discoveredBy Chad Trujillo
David L. Rabinowitz
surface form: David Rabinowitz

Michael E. Brown
discoveryDate 2004-02-17
discoverySite Palomar Observatory
eccentricity about 0.22
gravitationallyBoundTo Sun
hasAlternativeName 2004 DW
90482 Orcus (2004 DW)
hasMeanSurfaceTemperature around 40–50 K
hasNumberDesignation 90482 Orcus
hasOrbitalCategory trans-Neptunian region
hasSatellite Vanth
inclination about 20.6 degrees
isCandidateFor dwarf planet status
locatedIn Kuiper Belt
surface form: Kuiper belt
mass about 6.4×10^20 kilograms
meanDiameter approximately 910 kilometers
namedAfter Orcus (Roman god of the underworld)
observedBy Hubble Space Telescope
oftenDescribedAs twin of Pluto
orbitalPeriod approximately 247 Earth years
orbitalResonanceRatio 2:3
orbitalResonanceWith Neptune
orbits Sun
perihelionDistance approximately 30.3 astronomical units
rotationPeriod about 10.5 hours
semiMajorAxis approximately 39.2 astronomical units
similarTo Pluto
spectralType neutral to slightly red
surfaceComposition carbonaceous material
water ice
surfaceFeature shows water-ice absorption bands in spectrum
systemType binary system with Vanth

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

subject surface form: Kuiper Belt object