2012 VP113

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2012 VP113
2012 VP113 imaged by the Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope on 9 October 2021
Discovery[1]
Discovered by
Discovery siteCerro Tololo Obs.
Discovery date5 November 2012
Designations
2012 VP113
Biden (nickname)
Orbital characteristics (barycentric)[4]
Epoch 5 May 2025
(JD 2460800.5)
Uncertainty parameter 3[2]
Observation arc16.94 yr (6,187 d)
Earliest precovery date19 September 2007
Aphelion444.1 AU
Perihelion80.52 AU
262.3 AU
Eccentricity0.6931
4,246 yr[4]
24.05°
0° 0m 0.836s / day
Inclination24.0563°±0.006°
90.80°
≈ September 1979[5]
293.90°
Known satellites0
Physical characteristics
450 km (calc. for albedo 0.15)[6]
23.5[7]
4.05[2]

2012 VP113 is a trans-Neptunian object (TNO) orbiting the Sun on an extremely wide elliptical orbit. It is classified as a sednoid because its orbit never comes closer than 80.5 AU (12.04 billion km; 7.48 billion mi) from the Sun, which is far enough away from the giant planets that their gravitational influence cannot affect the object's orbit noticeably. It was discovered on 5 November 2012 at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, by American astronomers Scott Sheppard and Chad Trujillo, who nicknamed the object "Biden" because of its "VP" abbreviation.[8] The discovery was announced on 26 March 2014.[6][8] The object's diameter has not been measured, but its brightness suggests it is around 450 km (280 mi) in diameter.[6][9] 2012 VP113 has a reddish color similar to many other TNOs.[6]

2012 VP113 has not yet been imaged by high-resolution telescopes, so it has no known moons.[10] The Hubble Space Telescope is planned to image 2012 VP113 in 2026, which should determine if it has significantly sized moons.[10]

History

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Discovery

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Discovery images of 2012 VP113 taken on 5 November 2012.

2012 VP113 was first reported to have been observed on 5 November 2012[1] with NOAO's 4-meter Víctor M. Blanco Telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory.[11] Carnegie's 6.5-meter Magellan telescope at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile was used to determine its orbit and surface properties.[11]

Before being announced to the public, 2012 VP113 was only tracked by Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (807) and Las Campanas Observatory (304).[12]

2012 VP113 had previously been observed (but not reported) as early as September 2007.[12]

Nickname

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2012 VP113 was abbreviated "VP" and nicknamed "Biden" by the discovery team, after Joe Biden who was then the vice president ("VP") of the United States in 2012.[8]

Classification and physical characteristics

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2012 VP113 has the farthest perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) of all known minor planets in the Solar System as of 2025, greater than Sedna's.[13] Though its perihelion is farther, 2012 VP113 has an aphelion only about half of Sedna's. It is the second discovered sednoid, with a semi-major axis beyond 150 AU and a perihelion greater than 50 AU. The similarity of the orbit of 2012 VP113 to other known extreme trans-Neptunian objects led Scott Sheppard and Chad Trujillo to suggest that an undiscovered object, Planet Nine, in the outer Solar System is shepherding these distant objects into similar type orbits.[6]

It has an absolute magnitude of 4.0,[12] which means it may be large enough to be a dwarf planet.[14] The diameter and geometric albedo of 2012 VP113 has not been measured.[6][9] If 2012 VP113 has a moderate geometric albedo of 15% (typical of TNOs), its diameter would be around 450 km (280 mi).[6] A wider range of albedos gives a possible diameter range of 300–1,000 km (190–620 mi).[9] It is expected to be about half the size of Sedna and similar in size to Huya.[9] Its surface is moderately red in color, resulting from chemical changes produced by the effect of radiation on frozen water, methane, and carbon dioxide.[15] This optical color is consistent with formation in the gas-giant region and not the classical Kuiper belt, which is dominated by ultra-red colored objects.[6]

Orbit

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Orbital diagrams of 2012 VP113 with Pluto and the outer planets as of 2017
See also: List of Solar System objects most distant from the Sun

2012 VP113 has the largest perihelion distance of any known object in the Solar System.[16] Its last perihelion was within a couple months of September 1979.[5] The paucity of bodies with perihelia at 50–75 AU appears not to be an observational artifact.[6]

It is possibly a member of a hypothesized Hills cloud.[9][11][17] It has a perihelion, argument of perihelion, and current position in the sky similar to those of Sedna.[9] In fact, all known Solar System bodies with semi-major axes over 150 AU and perihelia greater than Neptune's have arguments of perihelion clustered near 340°±55°.[6] This could indicate a similar formation mechanism for these bodies.[6] (148209) 2000 CR105 was the first such object discovered.

It is currently unknown how 2012 VP113 acquired a perihelion distance beyond the Kuiper belt. The characteristics of its orbit, like those of Sedna's, have been explained as possibly created by a passing star or a trans-Neptunian planet of several Earth masses hundreds of astronomical units from the Sun.[18] The orbital architecture of the trans-Plutonian region may signal the presence of more than one planet.[19][20] 2012 VP113 could even be captured from another planetary system.[14] However, it is considered more likely that the perihelion of 2012 VP113 was raised by multiple interactions within the crowded confines of the open star cluster in which the Sun formed.[9]

  • Simulated view showing the orbit of 2012 VP113
    Simulated view showing the orbit of 2012 VP113
  • 2012 VP113 orbit in white with hypothetical Planet Nine
    2012 VP113 orbit in white with hypothetical Planet Nine
  • The orbits of known distant objects with large aphelion distances over 200 AU
    The orbits of known distant objects with large aphelion distances over 200 AU

See also

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Other large aphelion objects

References

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