(55638) 2002 VE95

(55638) 2002 VE95
Discovery
Discovered byNEAT
Discovery sitePalomar Obs.
Discovery date14 November 2002
Designations
(55638) 2002 VE95
2002 VE95
TNO · plutino
Orbital characteristics
Epoch 1 July 2021 (JD 2459396.5)
Uncertainty parameter 2 · 0
Observation arc27.27 yr (9,960 d)
Earliest precovery date12 October 1990
Aphelion50.441 AU
Perihelion27.910 AU
39.176 AU
Eccentricity0.2876
245.21 yr (89,562 d)
29.369°
0° 0m 14.4s / day
Inclination16.327°
199.72°
29 June 2001
206.35°
Physical characteristics
249.8 km
6.76 h (ambiguous)
0.149
20.64
5.3
5.70±0.06

    (55638) 2002 VE95 (provisional designation 2002 VE95) is a trans-Neptunian object from the outermost region of the Solar System. It was discovered on 14 November 2002, by astronomers with the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking program at the Palomar Observatory in California, United States. This resonant trans-Neptunian object is a member of the plutino population, locked in a 2:3 resonance with Neptune. The object is likely of primordial origin with a heterogeneous surface and a notably reddish color (RR) attributed to the presence of methanol and tholins. It has a poorly defined rotation period of 6.8 hours and measures approximately 250 kilometers (160 miles) in diameter. This plutino is also a dwarf planet candidate. As of 2021, it has not yet been named.