Quaoar

== Definition ==
Quaoar is a large transneptunian object located in the Kuiper belt. It was discovered on June 4, 2002 by the astronomers Chad Trujillo and Michael E. Brown at the California Institute of Technology (often abbreviated as Caltech) in Pasadena, USA. Its discoverers were also those who gave it the name Quaoar, which replaced the provisional designation 2002 LM60. The name Quaoar is derived from an immaterial and genderless creation deity of the Tongva native Americans, who are also known as Kumi-vit or Gabrielinos.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tongva#Traditional_narrativesfactcards.califa.org/cai/gabrielino.html The Tongva were the original inhabitants of the Los Angeles basin where Caltech is located.https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2002/07oct_newworld/ Quaoar probably belongs to the class of dwarf planets introduced by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) on 24 August 2006.
== Physical properties and orbit ==
Quaoar's diameter was initially determined to be 1260 ± 190 km using the Hubble Space Telescope among others. Thus, until the discovery of (90482) Orcus and (90377) Sedna, it was the largest object discovered in the solar system since Pluto. Due to the results of later investigations based on thermal imaging, the diameter estimate was adjusted downwards to 900 km, only to be raised again to 1110 ± 5 km in 2013 after an occultation was observed.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/50000_Quaoar#Sizehttp://www.universetoday.com/76906/quaoar/ According to this size estimate, its mean density would amount to 1.99 ± 0.46 grams per cubic centimetre. It is almost certain that Quaoar is larger than all objects of the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It orbits the Sun in an almost perfect circular orbit at a distance of about 6.5 billion kilometres, or 43.588 AU (perihelion 42.008 AE, aphelion 45.169 AE), which has an inclination of 7.984 ° to the ecliptic. It takes Quaoar 284.5 years to complete its orbit.
== Moon ==
In February 2007, a team around Mike Brown announced the discovery of a moon orbiting around Quaoar with a semi-major axis of about 14500 km and an eccentricity of about 0.14. It had been discovered on footage recorded in the previous year. In November 2009, the moon was assigned the name Weywot. In Tongva mythology, Weywot was the sky deity that originated from the singing and dancing of the creator Quaoar. According to recent estimates that assume an equal albedo and density to Quaoar, Weywot is thought to have a diameter of about 74 km.
== Images ==
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