The new object's orbit compared to the orbits of several representative Kuiper belt objects. Buffy's orbit is shown in red, with a green square marking its current position. The blue triangles mark the positions of the other Kuiper belt objects whose orbits are shown. Currently 58 astronomical units from the Sun (1 astronomical unit, or AU, is the distance between the Earth and the Sun), the new object never approaches closer than 50 AU, because its orbit is close to circular. Almost all Kuiper belt objects discovered beyond Neptune are between 30 AU and 50 AU away. Beyond 50 AU, the main Kuiper belt appears to end, and what few objects have been discovered beyond this distance have all been on very high eccentricity (non-circular) orbits. Most of these high-eccentricity orbits are the result of Neptune "flinging" the object outward by a gravitational slingshot. However, because this new object does not approach closer than 50 AU, a different theory is needed to explain its orbit. Complicating the problem, the object's orbit also has an extreme tilt, being inclined (tilted) at 47 degrees to the rest of the Solar System. The Discovery and Follow-up The object, which received the official designation 2004 XR 190 in the International Astronomical Union's official announcement, was discovered during routine operation of the Canada-France Ecliptic Plane Survey (CFEPS) running as part of the Legacy Survey on the Canada France Hawaii Telescope. For now, the discoverers are using the temporary nickname "Buffy" to identify the new object, although they have proposed a different official name in keeping with normal procedures for naming such objects. Buffy was extracted from the mountain of Legacy Survey data (about 50 gigabytes per hour of operation) by powerful computers combing through the telescopic images and producing hundreds of candidates. Astronomers then sift through the candidates to identify the distant comets. Although theories that explain individual objects exist, reproducing the entire ensemble of known objects with one process poses a difficult challenge to current solar system models. Because the unusual objects, like Buffy, are very rare, astronomers are still scratching the surface of the dark corners of the Kuiper belt. Future large-scale surveys that systematically explore the Kuiper belt are the only way unlock the mysteries of what happened early in the history of our Solar System. Buffy's Orbit!
by *AngelsSlayer on Comments
My hubby found this some place and emailed it to me. I think its neat! According to another article it is named after Buffy from the show... "These traits make the object, nicknamed 'Buffy' after the US television series about a vampire slayer, hard to explain. 'Maybe Buffy is going to be a bit of a theory slayer,' Allen told New Scientist." Buffy Stands Out From The Crowd The new object's orbit compared to the orbits of several representative Kuiper belt objects. Buffy's orbit is shown in red, with a green square marking its current position. The blue triangles mark the positions of the other Kuiper belt objects whose orbits are shown. Currently 58 astronomical units from the Sun (1 astronomical unit, or AU, is the distance between the Earth and the Sun), the new object never approaches closer than 50 AU, because its orbit is close to circular. Almost all Kuiper belt objects discovered beyond Neptune are between 30 AU and 50 AU away. Beyond 50 AU, the main Kuiper belt appears to end, and what few objects have been discovered beyond this distance have all been on very high eccentricity (non-circular) orbits. Most of these high-eccentricity orbits are the result of Neptune "flinging" the object outward by a gravitational slingshot. However, because this new object does not approach closer than 50 AU, a different theory is needed to explain its orbit. Complicating the problem, the object's orbit also has an extreme tilt, being inclined (tilted) at 47 degrees to the rest of the Solar System. The Discovery and Follow-up The object, which received the official designation 2004 XR 190 in the International Astronomical Union's official announcement, was discovered during routine operation of the Canada-France Ecliptic Plane Survey (CFEPS) running as part of the Legacy Survey on the Canada France Hawaii Telescope. For now, the discoverers are using the temporary nickname "Buffy" to identify the new object, although they have proposed a different official name in keeping with normal procedures for naming such objects. Buffy was extracted from the mountain of Legacy Survey data (about 50 gigabytes per hour of operation) by powerful computers combing through the telescopic images and producing hundreds of candidates. Astronomers then sift through the candidates to identify the distant comets. Although theories that explain individual objects exist, reproducing the entire ensemble of known objects with one process poses a difficult challenge to current solar system models. Because the unusual objects, like Buffy, are very rare, astronomers are still scratching the surface of the dark corners of the Kuiper belt. Future large-scale surveys that systematically explore the Kuiper belt are the only way unlock the mysteries of what happened early in the history of our Solar System.
The new object's orbit compared to the orbits of several representative Kuiper belt objects. Buffy's orbit is shown in red, with a green square marking its current position. The blue triangles mark the positions of the other Kuiper belt objects whose orbits are shown. Currently 58 astronomical units from the Sun (1 astronomical unit, or AU, is the distance between the Earth and the Sun), the new object never approaches closer than 50 AU, because its orbit is close to circular. Almost all Kuiper belt objects discovered beyond Neptune are between 30 AU and 50 AU away. Beyond 50 AU, the main Kuiper belt appears to end, and what few objects have been discovered beyond this distance have all been on very high eccentricity (non-circular) orbits. Most of these high-eccentricity orbits are the result of Neptune "flinging" the object outward by a gravitational slingshot. However, because this new object does not approach closer than 50 AU, a different theory is needed to explain its orbit. Complicating the problem, the object's orbit also has an extreme tilt, being inclined (tilted) at 47 degrees to the rest of the Solar System. The Discovery and Follow-up The object, which received the official designation 2004 XR 190 in the International Astronomical Union's official announcement, was discovered during routine operation of the Canada-France Ecliptic Plane Survey (CFEPS) running as part of the Legacy Survey on the Canada France Hawaii Telescope. For now, the discoverers are using the temporary nickname "Buffy" to identify the new object, although they have proposed a different official name in keeping with normal procedures for naming such objects. Buffy was extracted from the mountain of Legacy Survey data (about 50 gigabytes per hour of operation) by powerful computers combing through the telescopic images and producing hundreds of candidates. Astronomers then sift through the candidates to identify the distant comets. Although theories that explain individual objects exist, reproducing the entire ensemble of known objects with one process poses a difficult challenge to current solar system models. Because the unusual objects, like Buffy, are very rare, astronomers are still scratching the surface of the dark corners of the Kuiper belt. Future large-scale surveys that systematically explore the Kuiper belt are the only way unlock the mysteries of what happened early in the history of our Solar System.