List of possible dwarf planets

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There are many possible dwarf planets in the Solar System. Scientists do not know how many there are exactly. They say there may be up to 200 in the Kuiper Belt.[1] They also say there may be over 10,000 beyond this.[2] The IAU has accepted six of them: Pluto, Eris, Haumea, Makemake, and Quaoar, as well as Ceres in the Inner Solar System. This article numbers those and other possible ones. Only Pluto and Ceres have been confirmed to be in equilibrium. Eris is more a dwarf planet because of being similar to Pluto and more massive. Haumea and Makemake were accepted as dwarf planets for the naming rules, because they were not accepted dwarf planets. The consensus among astronomers include at least Gonggong, Sedna and Orcus. The IAU has accepted Quaoar in a 2022-2023 annual report.

Some of the possible dwarf planets

List of possible dwarf planets

change
Designation Measured mean
diameter (km)
Density
(g/cm3)
Albedo Identified as a dwarf planet Category
by Emery
et al.[3]
by Grundy
et al.[4]
by Brown[5] by Tancredi
et al.[6]
by the IAU
N I Triton 2707±2 2.06 0.60 to 0.95 (likely in equilibrium)[7] (moon of Neptune)
134340 Pluto 2376±3 1.854±0.006 0.49 to 0.66           2:3 resonant
136199 Eris 2326±12 2.43±0.05 0.96           SDO
136108 Haumea ≈ 1560 ≈ 2.018 0.51          
(naming rules)
resonant cubewano
136472 Makemake 1430+38
−22
1.9±0.2 0.81          
(naming rules)
hot cubewano
225088 Gonggong 1230±50 1.74±0.16 0.14       N/A 3:10 resonant
P I Charon 1212±1 1.70±0.02 0.2 to 0.5 (possibly in equilibrium)[8] (moon of Pluto)
50000 Quaoar 1086±4 ≈ 1.7 0.11          
(2022–2023 annual report)[9]
hot cubewano
1 Ceres 946±2 2.16±0.01 0.09 (close to equilibrium)[10]   asteroid
90482 Orcus 910+50
−40
1.4±0.2 0.23         plutino (2:3 resonant)
90377 Sedna 906+314
−258
? 0.41         detached
120347 Salacia 846±21 1.5±0.12 0.04         hot cubewano
(307261) 2002 MS4 796±24 ? 0.10    ?   N/A hot cubewano
(55565) 2002 AW197 768±39 ? 0.11    ? "highly likely"   hot cubewano
174567 Varda 749±18 1.78±0.06? or
1.23±0.04?
0.10     "highly likely"   4:7 resonant
(532037) 2013 FY27 742+78
−83
? 0.17    ? "highly likely" N/A SDO
(208996) 2003 AZ84 723 or 772±12 0.76 0.10     "highly likely"   plutino (2:3 resonant)
28978 Ixion 710±0.2 ? 0.10    ? "highly likely"   plutino (2:3 resonant)
(145452) 2005 RN43 679+55
−73
? 0.107+0.029
−0.018
   ? "highly likely"   hot cubewano
(55637) 2002 UX25 665±29 or 659±38 0.82±0.11 0.107+0.005
−0.008
or 0.1±0.01
    "highly likely" N/A hot cubewano
2018 VG18 656 or 500 ? 0.12    ? "highly likely" N/A SDO
20000 Varuna 654+154
−102
or 668+154
−86
? 0.127+0.04
−0.042
   ? "highly likely"   hot cubewano
229762 G!kún‖’hòmdímà 642±28 or 638+24
−12
1.04±0.17 0.142±0.015     "highly likely" N/A SDO
2014 UZ224 635+65
−72
? 0.131+0.038
−0.028
   ? "highly likely" N/A SDO
19521 Chaos 612 or 600+140
−130
? 0.050+0.030
−0.016
   ? "highly likely" N/A hot cubewano
2012 VP113 574? ? 0.09 assumed    ? "likely" N/A detached
(528381) 2008 ST291 549 or 584 ? 0.09 assumed    ? "likely" N/A 1:6 resonant SDO
(523794) 2015 RR245 ≈500 ? 0.11 assumed    ? "highly likely" N/A  
(claimed without citation by AGU)[11]
SDO
38628 Huya 411±7.3 0.8 0.081     "probably"   plutino (2:3 resonant)
10 Hygiea 400±34 0.5 0.53     "possibly"     asteroid
47171 Lempo 373±4.0 0.5 0.051     "possibly"   plutino (2:3 resonant)
79360 Sila-Nunam 343±9 0.4 0.43     "possibly"   SDO
(15874) 1996 TL66 339±20 or 575±115 ? 0.110+0.021
−0.015
    "possibly"   SDO
471540 Alicanto 330±5 0.5 0.55     "possibly"   detached
65479 Ceto 310±5 0.4 0.44     "possibly"   SDO
10199 Chariklo 292±5 0.3 0.35     "possibly"   centaur
2060 Chiron 272±5 0.2 0.25     "possibly"   centaur / comet
148780 Altjira 250±5 0.6 0.64     "possibly"   cubewano
66652 Borasisi 242±5 0.4 0.48     "possibly"   cubewano

References

change
  1. Brown, Mike. "The Dwarf Planets". Retrieved 20 January 2008.
  2. Stern, Alan (24 August 2012). "The Kuiper Belt at 20: Paradigm Changes in Our Knowledge of the Solar System". Applied Physics Laboratory. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  3. J.P. Emery, I. Wong, R. Brunetto, J.C. Cook, N. Pinilla-Alonso, J.A. Stansberry, B.J. Holler, W.M. Grundy, S. Protopapa, A.C. Souza-Feliciano, E. Fernández-Valenzuela, J.I. Lunine, D.C. Hines (29 February 2024). "A Tale of 3 Dwarf Planets: Ices and Organics on Sedna, Gonggong, and Quaoar from JWST Spectroscopy". Retrieved 4 May 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. Grundy, W.M.; Noll, K.S.; Buie, M.W.; Benecchi, S.D.; Ragozzine, D.; Roe, H.G. (December 2019). "The mutual orbit, mass, and density of transneptunian binary Gǃkúnǁʼhòmdímà ((229762) 2007 UK126)" (PDF). Icarus. 334: 30–38. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2018.12.037. S2CID 126574999. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-04-07.
  5. Grundy, W.M.; Noll, K.S.; Roe, H.G.; Buie, M.W.; Porter, S.B.; Parker, A.H.; et al. (December 2019). "Mutual orbit orientations of transneptunian binaries" (PDF). Icarus. 334: 62–78. Bibcode:2019Icar..334...62G. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2019.03.035. S2CID 133585837. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 April 2019.
  6. Tancredi, G. (2010). "Physical and dynamical characteristics of icy "dwarf planets" (plutoids)". Icy Bodies of the Solar System: Proceedings IAU Symposium No. 263, 2009. 263: 173–185. Bibcode:2010IAUS..263..173T. doi:10.1017/S1743921310001717.
  7. Thomas, P.C. (December 2000). "The Shape of Triton from Limb Profiles". Icarus. 148 (2): 587–588. Bibcode:2000Icar..148..587T. doi:10.1006/icar.2000.6511.
  8. Kholshevnikovab, K.V.; Borukhaa, M.A.; Eskina, B.B.; Mikryukov, D.V. (23 October 2019). "On the asphericity of the figures of Pluto and Charon". Icarus. 181: 104777. doi:10.1016/j.pss.2019.104777. S2CID 209958465.
  9. "Report of Division F "Planetary Systems and Astrobiology": Annual Report 2022-23" (PDF). International Astronomical Union. 2022–2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  10. Raymond, C.; Castillo-Rogez, J.C.; Park, R.S.; Ermakov, A.; et al. (September 2018). "Dawn Data Reveal Ceres' Complex Crustal Evolution" (PDF). European Planetary Science Congress. Vol. 12.
  11. "Six Things Dwarf Planets Have Taught Us About the Solar System". JoAnna Wendel. American Geophysical Union. 27 January 2024.