Hubble image archive
Artist's View of Kuiper Belt Object 1998 WW31
This is an artist's view of a Kuiper Belt binary object, called 1998 WW31. These icy bodies orbit each other at the fringe of our solar system. The illustration depicts one member of the duo in the foreground; its companion - the dark, round object - is in the background. The obj...
- Date
- Jan 1, 2002
- Mission
- Hubble Space Telescope
- Archive ID
- hubblesite-images-2002-04-1146-image
This is an artist's view of a Kuiper Belt binary object, called 1998 WW31. These icy bodies orbit each other at the fringe of our solar system. The illustration depicts one member of the duo in the foreground; its companion - the dark, round object - is in the background. The objects are about the same size. Both are illuminated from behind by the Sun [the white dot at upper left]. Like other Kuiper Belt objects, this duo orbits the Sun, completing a circuit every 301 years. The planet Pluto orbits the Sun every 248 years.
Credits
NASA and G. Bacon (Space Telescope Science Institute)Image Details
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | 1998 WW31 |
| Object Description | Kuiper Belt Object |
| Distance | Distance from the Sun: The binary object has a semi-major axis of ~ 45 astronomical units (6.7 x 109 km or 4.2 x 109 miles). Distance from Earth: During the time of the HST observations (July 2001- February 2002) the binary system was ~ 46.5 astronomical units from the Earth. Distance between objects: The semi-major axis of the components of the binary system is ~ 22,300 km (13,900 miles). The eccentricity of the orbit makes this physical distance vary between 4,000 and 40,000 km (2,500 and 25,000 miles). Orbit: The binary objects have an orbital period about each other of ~ 570 days. The system orbits the Sun every 300 years. |
| Dimensions | The HST image is roughly 7 arcseconds (roughly 226,000 km or 141,000 miles) across. The binary objects are estimated to be roughly 150 km and 130 km in diameter. Total Mass: The binary objects have a total mass of 0.00021 that of Pluto. |
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Source
Image and source material are credited to the official mission archive linked below.
View on NASA.gov