Ilmarë (moon)
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | J. A. Larsen |
| Discovery date | 21 June 2003 |
| Designations | |
| MPC designation | (174567) Varda |
| 2003 MW12 | |
|
TNO (cubewano) SCATEXTD |
|
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch 13 January 2016 (JD 2457400.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 3 | |
| Observation arc | 12837 days (35.15 yr) |
| Aphelion | 52.212 AU (7.8108 Tm) |
| Perihelion | 39.399 AU (5.8940 Tm) |
| 45.805 AU (6.8523 Tm) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.13986 |
| 310.02 yr (113233 d) | |
|
Average orbital speed
|
4.37 km/s |
| 266.990° | |
| 0.0031793°/day | |
| Inclination | 21.495° |
| 183.943° | |
| 182.916° | |
| Known satellites | 1 |
| Earth MOID | 38.3965 AU (5.74403 Tm) |
| Jupiter MOID | 34.4405 AU (5.15223 Tm) |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions |
705+81 −75 km (primary) 361+42 −38 km (satellite) 722+82 −76 km (primary) 326+38 −34 km (satellite) |
| Mass | (2.664±0.064)×1020 kg |
|
Mean density
|
1.24+0.50 −0.35 g/cm3 |
| 5.91 h (0.246 d) | |
|
Sidereal rotation period
|
5.61 h |
|
0.102+0.024 −0.024 0.166+0.043 −0.033 |
|
| Temperature | ≈ 41 K |
| B−V=0.892±0.028 V−I=1.133±0.034 (Varda) B−V=0.857±0.061 V−I=1.266±0.052 (Ilmarë) |
|
| 20.5 | |
| 3.61 ± 0.05 3.097 ± 0.060 3.4 |
|
174567 Varda /ˈvɑːrdə/ (Quenya: [ˈvarda]), provisional designation 2003 MW12, is a trans-Neptunian object with an absolute magnitude of 3.5. It is highly likely to be a dwarf planet.
174567 Varda was discovered in March, 2006, using imagery dated from June 21, 2003 by Jeffrey A. Larsen with the Spacewatch telescope as part of a United States Naval Academy Trident Scholar project.
It is currently 47.5 AU from the Sun, and will come to perihelion around November 2096. It has been observed 68 times over 14 oppositions with precovery images back to 1980.
Names for Varda and its moon were announced on 16 January 2014. Varda is the queen of the Valar, creator of the stars, and principal goddess of the elves in J.R.R. Tolkien's fictional mythology. Ilmarë is a chief of the Maiar and Varda's handmaiden.
Varda has at least one satellite, Ilmarë /ˈɪlməriː/ (stress on the first syllable, Quenya: [ˈilmarɛ]), or Varda I, which was discovered in an image obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope on 26 April 2009, and reported in 2011. It is estimated to be about 320–360 km in diameter (about 50% that of its primary). As of 2015 two mirror orbital solutions are possible with slightly different parameters.
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