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Main Author: Bamberger, Daniel
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.05880
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author Bamberger, Daniel
author_facet Bamberger, Daniel
contents I present a preliminary orbit for the satellite of dwarf planet (136472) Makemake, based on archival Hubble Space Telescope images taken on 13 days between April 2015 and February 2019. The satellite was detected on twelve of them. A best-fit circular orbit has a period of $18.023 \pm 0.017$ d, a semi-major axis of $22250 \pm 780$ km, and an inclination of $83.7^{\circ} \pm 1.0^{\circ}$ relative to the line of sight. That orbit is nearly edge-on, raising the possibility of ongoing or imminent mutual events between Makemake and its satellite.
format Preprint
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institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A preliminary orbit for the satellite of dwarf planet (136472) Makemake
Bamberger, Daniel
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
I present a preliminary orbit for the satellite of dwarf planet (136472) Makemake, based on archival Hubble Space Telescope images taken on 13 days between April 2015 and February 2019. The satellite was detected on twelve of them. A best-fit circular orbit has a period of $18.023 \pm 0.017$ d, a semi-major axis of $22250 \pm 780$ km, and an inclination of $83.7^{\circ} \pm 1.0^{\circ}$ relative to the line of sight. That orbit is nearly edge-on, raising the possibility of ongoing or imminent mutual events between Makemake and its satellite.
title A preliminary orbit for the satellite of dwarf planet (136472) Makemake
topic Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.05880