Weywot

This article is about the moon. For the Tongva god, see Weywot (mythology).

Weywot
Quaoar and Weywot (left of Quaoar) imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2006
Discovery[1][2]
Discovered by
Discovery date14 February 2006
Designations
Designation
(50000) Quaoar I[4]: 134 
Pronunciation/ˈweɪwɒt/
S/2006 (50000) 1[5]
Orbital characteristics[6]
Epoch 23 March 2008 (JD 2454549.42)[6]
13289±189 km (2023)[7]
13900±200 (2013)[6]
Eccentricity0.056±0.093 (2023)[7]
0.137±0.006 (2013)[6]
12.4311±0.0015 d (2023)[7]
12.4314±0.0002 d (2013)[6]
Inclination15.8°±0.7° (to ecliptic)
1.0°±0.7°
335°±0.7°
Satellite of50000 Quaoar
Physical characteristics
≈ 200 km[8]
Albedo≈ 0.04[8]
24.7[9][a]
≈ 8.3[a]

Weywot (formal designation (50000) Quaoar I; provisional designation S/2006 (50000) 1) is a natural satellite or moon of the trans-Neptunian dwarf planet Quaoar. It was discovered by Michael Brown and Terry-Ann Suer using images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope on 14 February 2006. Named after the Tongva sky god and son of Quaoar, Weywot is thought to be a fragment of Quaoar that was ejected into an eccentric orbit around the dwarf planet by a major impact event billions of years ago. The moon is nearly 200 km (120 mi) in diameter and it orbits Quaoar every 12.4 days at an average distance of 13,300 km (8,300 mi). Weywot is thought to play a role in maintaining Quaoar's outer ring by gravitationally influencing it in an orbital resonance.

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference IAUC8812 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference johnston was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Suer was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference MPC67220 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference jpldata was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference Fraser2013 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Morgado2023 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Fernandez-Valenzuela2023 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Grundy-tnbs was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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