20000 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 .

Varuna is named after the Hindu deity Varuṇa.

 Physical characteristics 
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). Preprint on arXiv.

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

 References 

 Other websites 
  Site updated Reretrived on 2006-07-10
 Orbital simulation from JPL (Java) / Ephemeris

Category:Possible dwarf planets
Category:Kuiper belt objects