2011 MM4

2011 MM4, provisional designation 2011 MM4, is a sizable centaur and retrograde damocloid from the outer Solar System, approximately 64 kilometers (40 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 24 June 2011 by astronomers with the Pan-STARRS 1 at the Haleakala Obs. in Hawaii.[1][3]

2011 MM4
Discovery [1]
Discovered byPan-STARRS 1
Discovery siteHaleakala Obs.
Discovery date24 June 2011
Designations
2011 MM4
2011 MM4
centaur [2][3][4] · damocloid
distant [1]
Orbital characteristics [2]
Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc6.99 yr (2,552 d)
Aphelion31.121 AU
Perihelion11.138 AU
21.129 AU
Eccentricity0.4729
97.12 yr (35,473 d)
49.176°
0° 0m 36.36s / day
Inclination100.48°
282.45°
6.86°
TJupiter−0.4
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter
64 km[3][5]
0.083[3][5]
9.5[1][2]

    Orbit and classification

    2011 MM4 orbits the Sun at a distance of 11.1–31.2 AU once every 97 years and 2 months (35,473 days; semi-major axis of 21.13 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.47 and an inclination of 100° with respect to the ecliptic.[2] The body's observation arc begins at Pan-STARRS in June 2010.[1]

    Retrograde centaur and damocloid

    2011 MM4 is a member of the centaurs, a population of inward-moving bodies transiting from the Kuiper belt to the group of Jupiter-family comets. Orbiting mainly between Jupiter and Neptune, they typically have a semi-major axis of 5.5 to 30.1 AU. Centaurs are cometary-like bodies with an eccentric orbit. Their short dynamical lifetime is due to the perturbing forces exerted on them by the outer planets of the Solar System.[6]

    The object is on a retrograde orbit as it has an inclination of more than 90°.[2][7] There are only about a hundred known retrograde minor planets out of nearly 800,000 observed bodies, and, together with 2013 LU28 and 2008 YB3, it is among the largest such objects.[7] The object also meets the orbital definition for being a damocloid. This is a small group of cometary-like objects without a coma or tail and a Tisserand's parameter with respect to Jupiter of less than 2 besides a retrograde orbit.

    Numbering and naming

    This minor planet has no number yet.

    Physical characteristics

    Diameter and albedo

    According to the survey of centaurs and scattered-disk objects carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, 2011 MM4 measures 64 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.083,[5] which makes it too small to be considered as a dwarf-planet candidate.

    Rotation period

    As of 2018, no rotational lightcurve of has been obtained from photometric observations. The body's rotation period, pole and shape remain unknown.[2][8]

    gollark: Oh, plus it being significantly easier to just say "use wants as haves" instead of adding a have box.
    gollark: It took lots of people complaining and several weeks to change the rules of the hub to something remotely sane, and they're still broken and you don't even get told why you're banned.
    gollark: I suspect it was just accidentally mistyping a number.
    gollark: I'd also like to note the fact that the original trade hub was the minimum viable product and didn't even have proper rules.
    gollark: Caught a what?

    References
    1. "2011 MM4". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
    2. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 2011 MM4" (2017-10-29 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
    3. Johnston, Wm. Robert (7 October 2018). "List of Known Trans-Neptunian Objects". Johnston's Archive. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
    4. "List Of Centaurs and Scattered-Disk Objects". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
    5. Bauer, James M.; Grav, Tommy; Blauvelt, Erin; Mainzer, A. K.; Masiero, Joseph R.; Stevenson, Rachel; et al. (August 2013). "Centaurs and Scattered Disk Objects in the Thermal Infrared: Analysis of WISE/NEOWISE Observations". The Astrophysical Journal. 773 (1): 11. arXiv:1306.1862. Bibcode:2013ApJ...773...22B. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/773/1/22.
    6. Peixinho, N.; Doressoundiram, A.; Delsanti, A.; Boehnhardt, H.; Barucci, M. A.; Belskaya, I. (October 2003). "Reopening the TNOs color controversy: Centaurs bimodality and TNOs unimodality". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 410: L29–L32. arXiv:astro-ph/0309428. Bibcode:2003A&A...410L..29P. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20031420.
    7. de la Fuente Marcos, C.; de la Fuente Marcos, R. (August 2014). "Large retrograde Centaurs: visitors from the Oort cloud?". Astrophysics and Space Science. 352 (2): 409–419(Ap&SSHomepage). arXiv:1406.1450. Bibcode:2014Ap&SS.352..409D. doi:10.1007/s10509-014-1993-9.
    8. "LCDB Data for (342842)". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 18 October 2018.

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