[meteorite-list] NEW POST: TWO new Kuiper belt objects today?

[Sterling K. Webb]

Hi, Everybody

    In addition:
    The magnitude of 2006 EL61 is apparently 17.5, making it brighter
than the bigger 2003 UB313 (which is almost twice as far away).
    Since the limiting magnitude of a 12" scope is 14.8, I doubt the
amateurs with a 12" scope saw it, unless they used a imaging method to
capture it. It couldn't have been a visual observation.
    2005 EL61 is an ELONGATED object with a (presumably) equatorial
diameter 40% greater than it's (presumably) polar one.
    Welcome to the NEW solar system.
    Updated table:

1. 2003 UB313 @ 97 AU
     Twice as big as Pluto (diameter)
     Orbit inclined at 44 degrees
     Period 560 years
     Very bright object, Magnitude 18.9
     Discoverer: Brown

2.  2005 EL61 @ 51 AU
     0.70 as big as Pluto (diameter) but ELONGATED
     0.32 the mass of Pluto
     Orbit inclined at ?? degrees
     Period ??? years
     Also bright object, Mag 17.5
          "seen" in 12" scope by amateurs
          within hours of announcement
     Has a moon 1% of primary mass in 49-day orbit
     Discoverer: Ortiz; Moon discovered by Brown
     who had also discovered the primary
     but did not announce first

3.  2005 FY9 @ ?? AU
     "less than" the diameter of Pluto but not by too much
     Orbit inclined at ?? degrees
     Period ??? years
     Also pretty bright for a KBO
     Discoverer: Brown



Sterling K. Webb
--------------------------------------------------------------
Darren Garrison wrote:

> Were there two KBOs announced today, or just one under two numbers?  There seems to be confusion on
> the point

> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ron Baalke wrote
___________
Some new info direct from Mike Brown:

o 2003 UB313 is larger then Pluto in diameter, but no larger than twice
Pluto's diameter
o Based on Spitzer measurements 2005 FY9 is confirmed to be smaller than
Pluto
o Attempts to measure 2003 UB313 with Spitzer did not yield any useful
data
o The satellite around 2003 EL61 has a 49-day orbital period
o The surface of 2003 UB313 is similar to Pluto, and it has methane
o They had intended to announce their discoveries in a couple of months,
but their
  website was hacked into, which prompted them to announce them today.