20000 Varuna

Kuiper belt object
(Redirected from Varuna)

20000 Varuna is a big Kuiper belt object (KBO). It could be a dwarf planet. Before it was named Varuna, it had the provisional designation 2000 WR106.

Varuna is named after the Hindu deity Varuṇa.

Physical characteristics change

Varuna completes one rotation in about 3.17 hours (or 6.34 hours, depending on whether the light curve is single or double-peaked). Given the fast rotation, which is not common for objects so big, Varuna is thought to be a stretched spheroid, with a density around 1g/cm³ (close to the density of water).[1]

The surface of Varuna is somewhat red and small amounts of water ice have been found on its surface.[2]

References change

  1. Jewitt D, Sheppard S (2002). "Physical Properties Of Trans-Neptunian Object (20000) Varuna". Astronomical Journal. 123 (April): 2110–2120. doi:10.1086/339557. S2CID 16543165. Preprint on arXiv.
  2. Licandro J, Oliva E, Di Martino M (2001). "NICS-TNG infrared spectroscopy of trans-neptunian objects 2000 EB173 and 2000 WR106". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 373 (July): 29–32L. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20010758. S2CID 15690206.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

Other websites change