1996 PW
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | NEAT automated search camera from Haleakalā, Hawaii |
| Discovery date | August 9, 1996 |
| Designations | |
| MPC designation | 1996 PW |
| trans-Neptunian object | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch 13 January 2016 (JD 2457400.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 2 | |
| Observation arc | 506 days (1.39 yr) |
| Aphelion | 511.78 AU (76.561 Tm) |
| Perihelion | 2.54445 AU (380.644 Gm) |
| 257.16 AU (38.471 Tm) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.99011 |
| 4123.97 yr (1506279 d) | |
| 1.69887° | |
| 0° 0m 0.86s /day | |
| Inclination | 29.69447° |
| 144.64353° | |
| 181.6821° | |
| Earth MOID | 1.53091 AU (229.021 Gm) |
| Jupiter MOID | 2.33618 AU (349.488 Gm) |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 15 km (albedo 0.04, typical of extinct comets) 8 km (albedo 0.15, typical of stony asteroids) |
| 35.44 h (1.477 d) | |
| V − R = 0.56 ± 0.04 V − I = 1.03 ± 0.06 V − J = 1.80 ± 0.05 V − H = 2.19 ± 0.05 V − K = 2.32 ± 0.05 D Ld (SMASSII) |
|
| 14.0 | |
1996 PW is a small Solar System body on an orbit typical of long-period comets but that has shown no sign of cometary activity around the time it was discovered. Simulations indicate that it has most likely come from the Oort cloud, with a roughly equal probability of being an extinct comet and a rocky body that was originally scattered into the Oort cloud. The discovery of 1996 PW prompted theoretical research that suggests that roughly 1 to 2 percent of the Oort cloud objects are rocky.
1996 PW was discovered on 1996 August 9 by the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) automated search camera on Haleakalā, Hawaii. It is the first object that is not an active comet discovered on an orbit typical of long-period comets.
1996 PW has a rotation period of 35.44 ± 0.02 h and a double-peaked lightcurve with an amplitude of 0.44 ± 0.03 mag. Its spectrum is moderately red and featureless, typical of D-type asteroids and bare comet nuclei. Its spectrum suggests an extinct comet. The upper limit on 1996 PW's dust production is 0.03 kg/s.
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