Planetary Astronomy Research News
Discovery of Quaoar, the [currently] largest known Kuiper
belt object
Discovery of a satellite to the asteroid (87) Sylvia
Brown, M.E. and Margot, J.L.
M.
E. Brown and J. L. Margot, California Institute of Technology, report the
discovery of a satellite to (87) Sylvia. The projected separation
between primary and secondary was 0.59'' in H-band images obtained on 2001
Feb 18.5 UT using the adaptive optics system on the
10-m W. M. Keck II telescope on Mauna Kea. Little relative motion
was apparent in images obtained an hour apart (upper limit 0.02'').
The brightness ratio was measured to be 420+/-70, implying a ~1:20 ratio
of sizes.