Object in Kuper Belt Orbiting the Sun Backwards

Posted on Tuesday 9 September 2008

New Scientist reports that an object in the Kuiper belt named 2008 KV42 is orbiting the Sun backwards. The article says some comets can have retrograde orbits but this object does not appear to be a comet.

Researchers led by Brett Gladman of the University of British Columbia first spotted the maverick object in May. Observations suggest it is about 50 kilometres across and travels on a path that takes it from the distance of Uranus to more than twice that of Neptune (or between 20 and 70 astronomical units from the Sun, with 1 AU being the Earth-Sun distance).

Its orbit appears to have been stable for hundreds of millions of years, but astronomers say it may have been born elsewhere. “It’s certainly intriguing to ask where it comes from,” says Brian Marsden of the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Gladman says it was probably born in the same place as Halley-type comets. These comets also travel on retrograde or highly tilted orbits ? lasting between 20 and 200 years, but they come closer to the Sun.

Astronomers don’t believe the object nicknamed Drac originated in Kuiper Belt. Here’s a video showing 2008 KV42’s orbit. You can also read more about Drac here on Universe Today.

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