38628 Huya
Huya and its satellite, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope on 6 May 2012 | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Ignacio R. Ferrín et al. |
| Discovery site | Llano del Hato Obs. |
| Discovery date | 10 March 2000 |
| Designations | |
| (38628) Huya | |
| Pronunciation | /huːˈjɑː/ hoo-YAH |
Named after | Huya |
| 2000 EB173 | |
| TNO · plutino Kozai res. · distant | |
| Orbital characteristics (barycentric) | |
| Epoch 25 February 2023 (JD 2460000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 1 | |
| Observation arc | 28 yr |
| Earliest precovery date | 9 April 1996 |
| Aphelion | 50.295 AU |
| Perihelion | 28.532 AU |
| 39.413 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.27608 |
| 247.28 yr (90,318 d) | |
| 11.695° | |
| 0° 0m 14.349s / day | |
| Inclination | 15.474° |
| 169.323° | |
| 14 December 2014 | |
| 67.882° | |
| Known satellites | 1 |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 414.7±0.9 km (primary; volume equiv.) | |
Equatorial radius | 218.05±0.11 km |
Polar radius | 187.5±2.4 km (if oblate) |
| Flattening | 0.14±0.01 |
| Volume | 3.73×107 km3 |
| Mass | 4.52+0.16 −0.15×1019 kg (system) (4.01±0.25)×1019 kg (primary) |
Mean density | 1.073±0.066 g/cm3 |
| 6.725±0.006 h | |
| 0.079±0.004 (primary) | |
| IR (moderately red) B−V=0.96±0.01 V−R=0.57±0.02 V−I=1.2±0.02 | |
| 19.8 | |
| 5.04±0.03 (system) 5.31±0.03 (primary) | |
38628 Huya (/huːˈjɑː/ hoo-YAH; provisional designation 2000 EB173) is a binary trans-Neptunian object located in the Kuiper belt, a region of icy objects orbiting beyond Neptune in the outer Solar System. Huya is classified as a plutino, a dynamical class of trans-Neptunian objects with orbits in a 3:2 orbital resonance with Neptune. It was discovered by the Quasar Equatorial Survey Team and was identified by Venezuelan astronomer Ignacio Ferrín in March 2000. It is named after Juyá, the mythological rain god of the Wayuu people native to South America.
Huya's surface is moderately red in color due to the presence of complex organic compounds on its surface. Water ice has been suspected to be also present on its surface, although water ice has not been directly detected on Huya. Huya is considered as a mid-sized trans-Neptunian object, with an estimated diameter of about 400 km (250 mi). Huya has been considered to be a possible dwarf planet, though its relatively small size and dark surface may imply that it never collapsed into a solid body and was thus never in hydrostatic equilibrium.
Huya has one known natural satellite. The satellite is relatively large compared to Huya and is expected to have slowed its rotation, although measurements of Huya's brightness variations have indicated that Huya's rotation may not be synchronous with the satellite's orbit.