| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | David C. Jewitt Jane X. Luu |
| Discovery site | Mauna Kea Obs. |
| Discovery date | 15 September 1993 |
| Designations | |
| 1993 RP | |
| 2015 VR202 | |
| TNO[2] · res 4:5 · distant[1] | |
| Orbital characteristics (barycentric)[3] | |
| Epoch 25 February 2023 (JD 2460000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 4[2] | |
| Observation arc | 23.13 yr (8,449 d)[2] |
| Aphelion | 37.030 AU |
| Perihelion | 33.028 AU |
| 35.029 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.05713 |
| 207.19 yr (75,675 days) | |
| 319.320° | |
| 0° 0m 17.126s / day | |
| Inclination | 4.340° |
| 192.365° | |
| 278.735° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 40–90 km (est. 0.04–0.2)[4] | |
| 24.7–24.9[5] | |
| 9.37[1] | |
1993 RP is a trans-Neptunian object discovered by astronomers David Jewitt and Jane Luu at Mauna Kea Observatory on 15 September 1993. It was one of the first few trans-Neptunian objects discovered after Pluto and Charon, but it was not observed long enough to determine its orbit and ended up becoming lost for over two decades. 1993 RP was serendipitously reobserved in 2015–2016 by Edward Ashton, John Kavelaars, and Brett Gladman at Mauna Kea Observatory, but was announced as a new trans-Neptunian object under the provisional designation 2015 VR202.[6] 2015 VR202 was not recognized to be the same object as 1993 RP until it was identified by Peter VanWylen on 14 August 2023.[5]
1993 RP orbits 35 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun in a nearly circular orbit, which places it outside of the inner boundary of the classical Kuiper belt at 39 AU.[2] 1993 RP has an orbital period of 205 years, which is nearly exactly 5/4 that of Neptune's. This orbital period ratio makes 1993 RP in a 4:5 mean-motion orbital resonance with Neptune; for every four orbits 1993 RP makes, Neptune orbits five times.
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