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2015 FG415 is a trans-Neptunian object from the scattered disc, located in the outermost region of the Solar System. It was discovered on 17 March 2015, by American astronomer Scott Sheppard at the Mauna Kea Observatories, Hawaii,[1] and received the provisional designation 2015 FG415. As of 2021[update], it is the 9th-most-distant object from the Sun at 87.2 AU and measures approximately 280 kilometers (170 miles) in diameter.[5]
| Discovery[1][2][3] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | S. S. Sheppard |
| Discovery site | Mauna Kea Obs. |
| Discovery date | 17 March 2015 |
| Designations | |
| 2015 FG415 | |
| Orbital characteristics[4] | |
| Epoch 1 July 2021 (JD 2459396.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 6[1] · 7[4] | |
| Observation arc | 3.89 yr (1,419 d) |
| Aphelion | 91.925 AU |
| Perihelion | 36.009 AU |
| 63.967 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.4371 |
| 511.61 yr (186,866 d) | |
| 227.77° | |
| 0° 0m 6.84s / day | |
| Inclination | 4.7230° |
| 6.7523° | |
| 314.55° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 280 km (est.)[5][7] | |
| 6.0[1][4] | |
2015 FG415 orbits the Sun at a distance of 36.0–91.9 AU once every 511 years and 7 months (186,866 days; semi-major axis of 63.97 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.44 and an inclination of 5° with respect to the ecliptic.[4]
It is classified as a scattered disc object,[5] or "near-scattered" in the classification of the Deep Ecliptic Survey,[6] that still interacts gravitationally with Neptune (30.1 AU) due to its relatively low perihelion of 36.0 AU, contrary to the extended-scattered/detached objects and sednoids which never approach Neptune as close.
2015 FG415 will come to perihelion in 2209,[4] moving towards the Sun, currently located at a distance of 87.2 AU,[8] which makes it the 9th-most-distant known minor planet in the Solar System,[9] after 2018 AG37, 2018 VG18, 2020 FY30, 2020 FA31, Eris, 2015 TH367, 2014 UZ224, and Gonggong, (also see List of Solar System objects most distant from the Sun § Known distant objects).
Based on a generic magnitude-to-diameter conversion, 2015 FG415 measures approximately 280 kilometers (170 miles) in diameter, for an assumed albedo of 0.9 with an absolute magnitude of 6.0.[5][7] Mike Brown considers this object to be a weak dwarf planet candidate ("possibly") estimating a mean-diameter of 277 km (170 mi).[10] As of 2021[update], no rotational lightcurve for this object has been obtained from photometric observations. The body's rotation period, pole and shape remain unknown.[4]
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