50000 Quaoar Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
50000 Quaoar
Discovery
Sum of 16 Hubble exposures registered on Quaoar.
Discovered by	Chad Trujillo, Michael Brown
Discovery date	2002 Jun 05 10:48:08 PDT on an image taken 2002 June 04 05:41:40 UT
Designations
Alternative designations	2002 LM₆₀
Minor planet category	Cubewano
Orbital characteristics
Epoch May 18, 2008 (JD 2 454 600.5)
Aphelion	6.716 275 Tm (45.286 AU)
Perihelion	6.270 316 Tm (41.928 AU)
Semi-major axis	6.493 296 Tm (43.607 AU)
Eccentricity	0.038 4
Orbital period	105 181.6 d (287.97 a)
Average orbital speed	4.52 km/s
Mean anomaly	284.861°
Inclination	7.988°
Longitude of ascending node	188.893°
Argument of perihelion	148.508°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	1260 ± 190 km (direct) 844⁺²⁰⁷₋₁₉₀ km (thermal)
Mass	(1.0–2.6)×10²¹ kg
Mean density	2.0? g/cm³
Equatorial surface gravity	0.276–0.376 m/s²
Equatorial escape velocity	0.523–0.712 km/s
Geometric albedo	0.088 ^+0.021_−0.012 0.198 6 ^+0.13_−0.07
Temperature	~43 K
Spectral type	(moderately red) B-V=0.94, V-R=0.65
Absolute magnitude (H)	2.6

50000 Quaoar (say "KWAH-oar") is a small world far beyond Neptune. It is known as a Trans-Neptunian object (TNO) because it orbits the Sun past Neptune. Quaoar is also a dwarf planet, meaning it's big enough to be round but hasn't cleared its orbit of other objects.

It was discovered on June 4, 2002. Two astronomers, Chad Trujillo and Michael Brown, found it. They were working at the California Institute of Technology.

The Solar System

Sun • Heliosphere	Planets ☾ = moon(s) ∅ = rings		Mercury	Venus	Earth ☾	Mars ☾

			Jupiter ☾ ∅	Saturn ☾ ∅	Uranus ☾ ∅	Neptune ☾ ∅

	Dwarf planets		Ceres	Pluto ☾	Haumea ☾	Makemake

			Eris ☾

	Small Solar System bodies	Asteroids (minor planets)	Groups and families: Vulcanoids · Near-Earth asteroids · Asteroid belt Jupiter Trojans · Centaurs · Neptune Trojans · Asteroid moons · Meteoroids · Pallas · Juno · Vesta · Hygiea · Interamnia · Europa
		Asteroids (minor planets)	See also the list of asteroids.

		Trans- Neptunians	Kuiper belt – Plutinos: Orcus · Ixion – Cubewanos: Varuna · Quaoar · Huya
		Trans- Neptunians	Scattered disc: Sedna

		Comets	Periodic comets and non-periodic comets Damocloids · Oort cloud
See also the list of solar system objects

Exploring Quaoar's Home
- How Far Away Is Quaoar?
Discovering Quaoar
- Why Is It Named Quaoar?
Quaoar's Size and Features
- What Is Quaoar Made Of?
- Does Quaoar Have a Moon?
Images for kids
See also

Exploring Quaoar's Home

Quaoar lives in a region called the Kuiper belt. This is a huge ring of icy objects beyond Neptune. It's like a colder, wider version of the asteroid belt.

Quaoar is a type of Kuiper belt object called a Cubewano. This means it has a nearly circular orbit. It doesn't get pulled much by Neptune's gravity.

How Far Away Is Quaoar?

Quaoar is very far from the Sun. On average, it is about 43.6 AU away. One AU is the distance from the Earth to the Sun. So, Quaoar is 43.6 times farther from the Sun than Earth is!

It takes Quaoar a very long time to orbit the Sun. One full trip around the Sun takes almost 288 Earth years. Imagine waiting that long for your birthday!

Discovering Quaoar

Chad Trujillo and Michael Brown found Quaoar using a telescope. They used the Samuel Oschin telescope at Palomar Observatory. They looked at images taken on June 4, 2002.

They saw a faint object moving slowly across the sky. This slow movement showed it was far away. It was much farther than any known planet.

Why Is It Named Quaoar?

Quaoar is named after a god from Native American mythology. The Tongva people of Southern California have this name. Quaoar is their creator god. He sang and danced the universe into existence.

Quaoar's Size and Features

Quaoar is quite large for a dwarf planet. Scientists think it is about 1,260 kilometers (780 miles) wide. This makes it about half the size of Pluto. It's also bigger than some other dwarf planets.

What Is Quaoar Made Of?

Scientists believe Quaoar is a mix of rock and ice. Its surface looks a bit reddish. This color might come from complex organic materials. These materials are formed by sunlight hitting the icy surface.

Quaoar is also very cold. Its surface temperature is around -230 degrees Celsius (-382 degrees Fahrenheit). This is because it's so far from the Sun.

Does Quaoar Have a Moon?

Yes, Quaoar has a small moon! It's named Weywot. Weywot is much smaller than Quaoar. It orbits Quaoar in about 11 days.

Scientists discovered Weywot in 2007. They used the Hubble Space Telescope to find it. Studying Weywot helps scientists learn more about Quaoar's mass.

Images for kids

Quaoar was discovered using the Samuel Oschin telescope at Palomar Observatory
Animation of three discovery images taken over a period of 4.5 hours, showing the slow movement of Quaoar (indicated by the arrow)
Polar view of Quaoar's orbit (yellow) along with various other large Kuiper belt objects
Artist's impression of Quaoar's moderately red surface along with its moon Weywot
Hubble photo used to measure size of Quaoar
Quaoar compared to the Earth and the Moon
Quaoar from New Horizons viewed at a distance of 14 AU