Discovery and dynamics of a Sedna-like object with a perihelion of 66 au
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2025
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| author | Chen, Ying-Tung Lykawka, Patryk Sofia Huang, Yukun Kavelaars, JJ Fraser, Wesley C. Bannister, Michele T. Wang, Shiang-Yu Chang, Chan-Kao Lehner, Matthew J. Yoshida, Fumi Gladman, Brett Alexandersen, Mike Ashton, Edward Choi, Young-Jun Contreras, A. Paula Granados Ito, Takashi JeongAhn, Youngmin Ji, Jianghui Kim, Myung-Jin Lawler, Samantha M. Li, Jian Lin, Zhong-Yi Moon, Hong-Kyu More, Surhud Muñoz-Gutiérrez, Marco Ohtsuki, Keiji Peltier, Lowell Pike, Rosemary E. Terai, Tsuyoshi Urakawa, Seitaro Zhang, Hui Zhao, Haibin Zhou, Ji-Lin |
| author_facet | Chen, Ying-Tung Lykawka, Patryk Sofia Huang, Yukun Kavelaars, JJ Fraser, Wesley C. Bannister, Michele T. Wang, Shiang-Yu Chang, Chan-Kao Lehner, Matthew J. Yoshida, Fumi Gladman, Brett Alexandersen, Mike Ashton, Edward Choi, Young-Jun Contreras, A. Paula Granados Ito, Takashi JeongAhn, Youngmin Ji, Jianghui Kim, Myung-Jin Lawler, Samantha M. Li, Jian Lin, Zhong-Yi Moon, Hong-Kyu More, Surhud Muñoz-Gutiérrez, Marco Ohtsuki, Keiji Peltier, Lowell Pike, Rosemary E. Terai, Tsuyoshi Urakawa, Seitaro Zhang, Hui Zhao, Haibin Zhou, Ji-Lin |
| contents | Trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) with large perihelion distances ($q > 60$ au) and semi-major axes ($a > 200$ au) provide insights into the early evolution of the solar system and the existence of a hypothetical distant planet. These objects are still rare and their detection is challenging, yet they play a crucial role in constraining models of solar system formation. Here we report the discovery of a Sedna-like TNO, 2023\,KQ$_{14}$, nicknamed `Ammonite', with $q = 66$ au, $a = 252$ au, and inclination $i=11^\circ$. Ammonite's orbit does not align with those of the other Sedna-like objects and fills the previously unexplained `$q$-gap' in the observed distribution of distant solar system objects. Simulations demonstrate that Ammonite is dynamically stable over 4.5 billion years. % with less than 1\% variation in its semi-major axis. Our analysis suggests that Ammonite and the other Sedna-like objects may have shared a primordial orbital clustering around 4.2 billion years ago. Furthermore, Ammonite's stable orbit favors larger orbits ($\sim$ 500 au) rather than closer ones for a large hypothetical planet in present-day trans-Neptunian space. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_02162 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Discovery and dynamics of a Sedna-like object with a perihelion of 66 au Chen, Ying-Tung Lykawka, Patryk Sofia Huang, Yukun Kavelaars, JJ Fraser, Wesley C. Bannister, Michele T. Wang, Shiang-Yu Chang, Chan-Kao Lehner, Matthew J. Yoshida, Fumi Gladman, Brett Alexandersen, Mike Ashton, Edward Choi, Young-Jun Contreras, A. Paula Granados Ito, Takashi JeongAhn, Youngmin Ji, Jianghui Kim, Myung-Jin Lawler, Samantha M. Li, Jian Lin, Zhong-Yi Moon, Hong-Kyu More, Surhud Muñoz-Gutiérrez, Marco Ohtsuki, Keiji Peltier, Lowell Pike, Rosemary E. Terai, Tsuyoshi Urakawa, Seitaro Zhang, Hui Zhao, Haibin Zhou, Ji-Lin Earth and Planetary Astrophysics Trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) with large perihelion distances ($q > 60$ au) and semi-major axes ($a > 200$ au) provide insights into the early evolution of the solar system and the existence of a hypothetical distant planet. These objects are still rare and their detection is challenging, yet they play a crucial role in constraining models of solar system formation. Here we report the discovery of a Sedna-like TNO, 2023\,KQ$_{14}$, nicknamed `Ammonite', with $q = 66$ au, $a = 252$ au, and inclination $i=11^\circ$. Ammonite's orbit does not align with those of the other Sedna-like objects and fills the previously unexplained `$q$-gap' in the observed distribution of distant solar system objects. Simulations demonstrate that Ammonite is dynamically stable over 4.5 billion years. % with less than 1\% variation in its semi-major axis. Our analysis suggests that Ammonite and the other Sedna-like objects may have shared a primordial orbital clustering around 4.2 billion years ago. Furthermore, Ammonite's stable orbit favors larger orbits ($\sim$ 500 au) rather than closer ones for a large hypothetical planet in present-day trans-Neptunian space. |
| title | Discovery and dynamics of a Sedna-like object with a perihelion of 66 au |
| topic | Earth and Planetary Astrophysics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.02162 |