541132 Leleākūhonua

541132 Leleākūhonua
Leleākūhonua imaged by the Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope in July 2024
Discovery
Discovered byD. J. Tholen
C. Trujillo
S. S. Sheppard
Discovery siteMauna Kea Obs.
Discovery date13 October 2015
Designations
PronunciationEnglish: /ˌlɛleɪɑːˌkuːhoʊˈnuːə/
Hawaiian: [lelejaːkuːhoˈnuwə]
  • 2015 TG387
  • V302126 (internal designation)
  • "The Goblin" (nickname)
TNO · sednoid
Orbital characteristics (barycentric)
Epoch 25 February 2023 (JD 2460000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 3
Observation arc13.04 yr (4,763 d)
Earliest precovery date5 October 2005
Aphelion2714 AU
Perihelion64.7 AU
1389 AU
Eccentricity0.94572
51787.68 yr
359.63°
0° 0m 0.086s / day
Inclination11.68°
300.989°
≈ 11 June 2078
±4.5 months
118.236°
Known satellites0
Physical characteristics
110+14
−10 km
0.21+0.03
−0.05
24.5
5.57±0.13

541132 Leleākūhonua (/ˌlɛleɪɑːˌkuːhoʊˈnuːə/; provisional designation 2015 TG387) is an extreme trans-Neptunian object and sednoid in the outermost part of the Solar System. It was first observed on 13 October 2015, by astronomers at the Mauna Kea Observatories, Hawaii. Based on its discovery date near Halloween and the letters in its provisional designation 2015 TG387, the object was informally nicknamed "The Goblin" by its discoverers and later named Leleākūhonua, comparing its orbit to the flight of the Pacific golden plover. It was the third sednoid discovered, after Sedna and 2012 VP113, and measures around 220 kilometers (140 miles) in diameter.

Discovery

Leleākūhonua was first observed on 13 October 2015 at the Mauna Kea Observatory (T09), by American astronomers David Tholen, Chad Trujillo and Scott Sheppard during their astronomical survey for objects located beyond the Kuiper Cliff. The unofficial discovery was publicly announced on 1 October 2018. The survey uses two principal telescopes: For the Northern hemisphere, the 8.2-meter Subaru Telescope with its Hyper Suprime Camera at Mauna Kea Observatories, Hawaii, and for the Southern hemisphere, the 4-meter Blanco Telescope and its Dark Energy Camera at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. For follow-up observations to determine an object's orbit, the astronomers are using the Magellan and the Lowell Discovery telescopes. The survey's discoveries include 2012 VP113, 2014 SR349 and 2013 FT28.

Orbit and classification

Orbital diagram of three of the four known sednoids: Leleākūhonua (2015 TG387), Sedna and 2012 VP113

Leleākūhonua orbits the Sun at a distance varying from 65 to about 2800 AU once roughly every 55,000 years (semi-major axis of around 1450 AU). Its orbit has a very high eccentricity of 0.955 and an inclination of 12° with respect to the ecliptic. It belongs to the extreme trans-Neptunian objects defined by their large semi-major axis and is the third sednoid ever to be discovered, after Sedna and 2012 VP113 ("Biden").

Implications of orbit

Along with the similar orbits of other distant trans-Neptunian objects, the orbit of Leleākūhonua suggests, but does not prove, the existence of Planet Nine in the outer Solar System.

As of 2019, the object is inbound 78 AU from the Sun; about two-and-a-half times farther out than Pluto's current location. It will come to perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) in 2078. As with Sedna, it would not have been found had it not been on the inner leg of its long orbit. This suggests that there may be many similar objects, most too distant to be detected by contemporary technological methods. Following the discovery of Leleākūhonua, Sheppard et al. concluded that it implies a population of about 2 million inner Oort cloud objects larger than 40 km (25 mi), with a combined total mass of 1×1022 kg, about the mass of Pluto (a fraction the mass of Earth's moon but several times the mass of the asteroid belt).

Numbering and naming

This minor planet was numbered by the Minor Planet Center on 10 October 2019 (M.P.C. 117077). On 3 June 2020, it was formally named Leleākūhonua, meaning 'it flies until land appears' (lele 'to fly' + ā 'until' + kū 'to appear' + honua 'land'). The name was suggested by students in the Hawaiian-language program A Hua He Inoa. The object reminded students of the migrations of the kolea, or Pacific golden plover, which migrates from Alaska to Hawaii. The English description states that the name "compares the orbit to the flight of migratory birds and evokes a yearning to be near Earth" (in Hawaiian, me he manu i ke ala pōʻaiapuni lā, he paʻa mau nō ia i ka hui me kona pūnana i kumu mai ai – 'like a bird on a path circling the sun, it is forever seeking a leeward wind back toward home').

Physical characteristics

The size of Leleākūhonua depends on the assumed albedo (reflectivity); if it is a darker object then it would also have to be larger; a higher albedo would demand that it be smaller. The faint object has a visual magnitude of 24.64, comparable to the visual magnitudes of Pluto's smaller moons. It was initially estimated to be 300 km (190 mi) in diameter under the assumption of an albedo of 0.15, though observations of a single-chord stellar occultation at Penticton, Canada, on 20 October 2018 suggested a smaller diameter of 220 km (140 mi), corresponding to a higher albedo of 0.21.

Visualizations

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "(541132) Leleakuhonua = 2015 TG387". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 "MPEC 2018-T05 : 2015 TG387". Minor Planet Electronic Circular. 1 October 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  3. ↑ Trujillo, C.; Sheppard, S.S.; Tholen, D.J.; Kaib, N. (24 October 2018). A New Inner Oort Cloud Object. 50th annual meeting of the AAS Division of Planetary Sciences. abstract 311.09. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  4. 1 2 Guarino, Ben (2 October 2018). "New dwarf planet spotted at the very fringe of our solar system". The Washington Post. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "JPL Small-Body Database Lookup: 541132 Leleakuhonua (2015 TG387)" (2018-10-17 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Sheppard, Scott S.; Trujillo, Chadwick A.; Tholen, David J.; Kaib, Nathan (April 2019). "A New High Perihelion Trans-Plutonian Inner Oort Cloud Object: 2015 TG387". The Astronomical Journal. 157 (4): 139. arXiv:1810.00013. Bibcode:2019AJ....157..139S. doi:10.3847/1538-3881/ab0895. ISSN 0004-6256. S2CID 119071596.
  7. ↑ Johnston, Wm. Robert (13 July 2019). "List of Known Trans-Neptunian Objects". Johnston's Archive. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  8. ↑ "JPL Horizons On-Line Ephemeris for 541132 Leleakuhonua (2015 TG387) at epoch JD 2460000.5". JPL Horizons On-Line Ephemeris System. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 15 September 2025. Solution using the Solar System Barycenter. Ephemeris Type: Elements and Center: @0)
  9. ↑ JPL Horizons Observer Location: @sun (Perihelion occurs when deldot changes from negative to positive. Uncertainty in time of perihelion is 3-sigma.)
  10. 1 2 3 4 Buie, Marc W.; Leiva, Rodrigo; Keller, John M.; Desmars, Josselin; Sicardy, Bruno; Kavelaars, J. J.; et al. (April 2020). "A Single-chord Stellar Occultation by the Extreme Trans-Neptunian Object (541132) Leleākūhonua". The Astronomical Journal. 159 (5): 230. arXiv:2011.03889. Bibcode:2020AJ....159..230B. doi:10.3847/1538-3881/ab8630. S2CID 219039999. 230.
  11. 1 2 3 "2015 TG387 – Ephemerides". AstDyS-2, Asteroids – Dynamic Site, Department of Mathematics, University of Pisa, Italy. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  12. ↑ Mortillaro, Nicole (2 October 2018). "Discovery of new object supports theory of 'super-Earth' at edge of solar system". CBC News. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  13. ↑ Witze, Alexandra (1 October 2018). "'Goblin' world found orbiting at the edges of the Solar System". Nature. doi:10.1038/d41586-018-06885-1. S2CID 125361517. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  14. ↑ Chang, Kenneth (2 October 2018). "A Goblin World That Points Toward Hidden Planet Nine in the Solar System". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  15. ↑ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  16. ↑ "M.P.C. 123453" (PDF). Minor Planet Center. 3 June 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  17. ↑ According to the MPC description, this is a life form mentioned in the Hawaiian creation chant, the Kumulipo. However, the name/phrase does not actually occur there. Like other recently coined Hawaiian names for astronomical objects, it is a descriptive phrase created by students in a Hawaiian language-revival class.
  18. ↑ Meghan Bartels, 'The Goblin' dwarf planet and an ancient quasar receive Hawaiian names Space.com, 1 July 2020
  19. ↑ "Hawaiian name given to dwarf planet orbiting Sun". UH News. University of Hawaiʻi Hilo. 16 November 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  20. 1 2 Drake, Nadia (2 October 2018). "New object beyond Pluto hints at mysterious 'Planet X'". National Geographic. Archived from the original on 3 October 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018.