Astronomy:78799 Xewioso

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78799 Xewioso
Hubble Space Telescope image of Xewioso taken on 20 September 2008
Discovery[1][2]
Discovered byPalomar Obs.
Discovery sitePalomar Obs.
Discovery date10 December 2002
Designations
(78799) Xewioso
Pronunciation/ˌhɛviˈoʊsoʊ/
Named afterXɛvioso
2002 XW93
Minor planet categoryTNO[2] · classical (inner/hot)[3]: 2  · other TNO[4] · distant[1]
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch 2025 May 05 (JD 2460800.5)
Uncertainty parameter 2
Observation arc35.19 yr (12,854 d)
Earliest precovery date17 December 1989
|{{{apsis}}}|helion}}46.88 AU
|{{{apsis}}}|helion}}28.49 AU
37.68 AU
Eccentricity0.2439
Orbital period231.33 yr (84493±4 d)
Mean anomaly153.53°
Mean motion0° 0m 15.34s / day
Inclination14.3307°
Longitude of ascending node46.700°
248.55°
Known satellites0
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter565+71
−73 km[3]: 10 
Geometric albedo0.038+0.043
−0.025[3]: 10 
Absolute magnitude (H)5.4±0.7[3]: 7 
4.86 (JPL/MPC)[1][2]


78799 Xewioso (provisional designation 2002 XW93) is a trans-Neptunian object located in the inner edge of the Kuiper belt. It has a dark surface with a diameter between 490 and 640 kilometers (300 and 400 mi). It was discovered on 10 December 2002 by astronomers at Palomar Observatory in California.[1]

History

Discovery

The 1.2-meter Samuel Oschin telescope that was used to discover Xewioso at Palomar Observatory back on 10 December 2002.

Xewioso was discovered on 10 December 2002 by a team of astronomers at Palomar Observatory in California.[1] The discovery team included Chad Trujillo, Michael E. Brown, Eleanor F. Helin, Steven Pravdo, Kenneth Lawrence, Michael D. Hicks, who were using Palomar's 1.22-meter (48 in) Samuel Oschin telescope.[5] Follow-up observations were taken by Trujillo using Palomar's 1.52-meter (60 in) telescope on 4 and 5 January 2003, and results were reported to the Minor Planet Center.[5][6]: 101  The team's discovery of Xewioso alongside the trans-Neptunian objects 2002 WC19 and 2002 XV93 was announced by the MPC on 5 January 2003.[5] The discovery of Xewioso formed part of Trujillo and Brown's Caltech Wide Area Sky Survey at Palomar Observatory, which aimed to find bright, Pluto-sized Kuiper belt objects like Quaoar, Máni, and Aya.[6]: 103 

In December 2003, the MPC published the first identified precovery observations of Xewioso, which included a pair of photographic plates from Palomar Observatory's Digitized Sky Survey.[7] The earliest of these photographic plates came from 17 December 1989, which was found by Reiner M. Stoss.[7] This 1989 plate remains as the earliest known precovery observation of Xewioso.[1]

Naming and numbering

The object is named after Xɛ̀vioso, a thunder god in the mythologies of the Tado (Fon and Ewe) peoples of West Africa.[8]: 6  The naming of this object was announced by the International Astronomical Union's Working Group for Small Body Nomenclature on 1 September 2025.[8] Before Xewioso was officially named, it was known by its provisional designation 2002 XW93,[1] which indicates the year and half-month of the object's discovery date.[9] Xewioso's minor planet catalog number of 78799 was given by the MPC on 6 February 2004.[10]

Orbit and classification

Diagram showing the orbit of Xewioso (white) and the giant planets

Xewioso orbits the Sun at a distance of 28–47 AU (average 38 AU) once about every 230 years.[2] Since its average orbital distance or semi-major axis is greater than Neptune's, Xewioso is considered a trans-Neptunian object.[2] Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.24 and an inclination of 14° with respect to the ecliptic.[2] It previously passed perihelion in 1926, when it was nearest to the Sun.[2]

Xewioso orbits at the inner edge of the Kuiper belt with a high orbital inclination, so it can be considered an inner classical Kuiper belt object of the dynamically "hot" (high-inclination) population.[3]: 2  Because Xewioso's orbit crosses Neptune's orbit, it can also be technically considered a centaur according to the Deep Ecliptic Survey's definition.[3]: 2 

Physical characteristics

Xewioso is a dark object with an extremely low geometric albedo of between 0.01 and 0.08 and an absolute magnitude of 5.4, which corresponds to a diameter of roughly 490 to 640 km (300 to 400 mi).[3]: 10, 12  These measurements come from 2010 observations by the Herschel Space Observatory, which could determine Xewioso's size by detecting its far-infrared thermal emission.[3]: 4  However the color and rotation period of Xewioso are unknown and its absolute magnitude also has significant uncertainty.[3]: 3 

Based on its size of 565+71
−73 km,[3]: 10  it belongs to the proposed class of "mid-sized" TNOs between 400 and 1,000 km (250 and 620 mi) in diameter, which are believed to represent the transition between small, low-density TNOs and large, high-density dwarf planets.[11][12]: 1  Planetary scientists have hypothesized that mid-sized TNOs should have highly porous and unheated interiors, because TNOs in this size range (namely Uni and Gǃkúnǁʼhòmdímà) have been found to have low densities around 1 g/cm3.[11] However, Xewioso is not known to have any natural satellites or moons, which means there is currently no way to measure its mass and density.[13]: 1, 3 

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "(78799) Xewioso = 2002 XW93". Minor Planet Center. https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=78799. Retrieved 2018-11-17. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 "JPL Small-Body Database Lookup: 78799 Xewioso (2002 XW93)". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2078799. Retrieved 2025-08-19. 
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 Vilenius, E.Expression error: Unrecognized word "etal". (May 2012). ""TNOs are Cool": A survey of the trans-Neptunian region VI. Herschel/PACS observations and thermal modeling of 19 classical Kuiper belt objects". Astronomy & Astrophysics 541: 17. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201118743. A94. Bibcode: 2012A&A...541A..94V. https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/pdf/2012/05/aa18743-11.pdf. 
  4. ↑ Johnston, Wm. Robert (7 October 2018). "List of Known Trans-Neptunian Objects". Johnston's Archive. http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/astro/tnoslist.html. Retrieved 14 November 2018. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Trujillo, C. A.; Brown, M. E.; Helin, E. F.; Pravdo, S.; Lawrence, K.; Hicks, M. (2003-01-05). Marsden, Brian G.. ed. "MPEC 2003-A25 : 2002 WC19, 2002 XV93, 2002 XW93". Minor Planet Electronic Circular (Minor Planet Center) 2003-A25. https://minorplanetcenter.net/mpec/K03/K03A25.html. Retrieved 2025-10-30. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Trujillo, C. A.; Brown, M. E. (June 2003). "The Caltech Wide Area Sky Survey". Earth, Moon, and Planets 92 (1): 99–112. doi:10.1023/B:MOON.0000031929.19729.a1. Bibcode: 2003EM&P...92...99T. https://link.springer.com/epdf/10.1023/B:MOON.0000031929.19729.a1?shared_access_token=bgfhf2Sq3-c-eiG985Pm_IspNOxuUNtyllpwxVxrbfBIblUlrGXFME5iw69vhaP59U4JrsXxO8WTPBcb5EFv6YjWxKeZY1EFUa0pkdSTgZUYMe-nisnFfSg2SbNiSisJlpxPbzc-gf9XwWJI4575ZT01hsDTR9qcJsr8V59z7ebAb1q1nkOl76HLGatSVny2. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Stoss, R.; Meyer, E.; Wasserman, L. H.; Chiang, E. I.; Lovering, J. R.; Clancy, K. B. (2003-12-24). Marsden, Brian G.. ed. "MPEC 2003-Y55 : 2002 XW93". Minor Planet Electronic Circular (Minor Planet Center) 2003-Y55. Bibcode: 2003MPEC....Y...55S. https://minorplanetcenter.net/mpec/K03/K03Y55.html. Retrieved 2025-10-30. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "WGSBN Bulletin 5, #20". WGSBN Bulletin (International Astronomical Union) 5 (20). 1 September 2025. https://wgsbn-iau.org/files/Bulletins/V005/WGSBNBull_V005_020.pdf. Retrieved 1 September 2025. 
  9. ↑ "New- And Old-Style Minor Planet Designations". Minor Planet Center. https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/info/DesDoc.html. Retrieved 2025-10-30. 
  10. ↑ "M.P.C. 50967". Minor Planet Circulars (Minor Planet Center) (50967): 413. 2004-02-06. https://minorplanetcenter.net/iau/ECS/MPCArchive/2004/MPC_20040206.pdf#page=413. Retrieved 2025-10-30. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Grundy, W. M.; Noll, K. S.; Buie, M. W.; Benecchi, S. D.; Ragozzine, D.; Roe, H. G. (December 2019). "The Mutual Orbit, Mass, and Density of Transneptunian Binary Gǃkúnǁʼhòmdímà ((229762) 2007 UK126)". Icarus 334: 30–38. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2018.12.037. Bibcode: 2019Icar..334...30G. http://www2.lowell.edu/users/grundy/abstracts/preprints/2019.G-G.pdf. 
  12. ↑ Sheppard, Scott; Fernandez, Yanga; Moullet, Arielle (6 September 2018). "The Albedos, Sizes, Colors and Satellites of Dwarf Planets Compared with Newly Measured Dwarf Planet 2013 FY27". The Astronomical Journal 156 (6): 270. doi:10.3847/1538-3881/aae92a. Bibcode: 2018AJ....156..270S. 
  13. ↑ Grundy, W. M.; McKinnon, W. B.; Ammannito, E.; Aung, M.; Bellerose, J.; Brenker, F. (December 2009). "Exploration Strategy for the Ice Dwarf Planets 2013-2022". American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting 2009. P43D-1471. Bibcode: 2009AGUFM.P43D1471G. https://www.lpi.usra.edu/decadal/sbag/community_wp/SB_Community_WP_Final_Dwarfs.pdf. 

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