Sedna questions

Some questions about this newly discovered solar system denizen.

1. How far away is it now? I'm assuming for something as distant and
dim as it is, it was spotted near its aphelion (75 AU). But the only
reference in the various news articles I can find says "three times
further than Pluto" which would put it at either at 120 AU or 90-something
AU, depending on how you interpret that.

2. Is there a chance (and I realize this is a LONG shot) that the
"New Horizons" Pluto explorer set to launch in 2006 could be aimed
at Sedna after its Pluto fly-by? There's simply no sense of any
relative direction in the articles I can find.


--Mark

Hegemony Cricket writes:

Some questions about this newly discovered solar system denizen.

1. How far away is it now?

From what? 90.1 AU from the Earth. 89.5 AU from the Sun.

I'm assuming for something as distant and
dim as it is, it was spotted near its aphelion (75 AU).

Aphelion is closer to 1000 AU.

But the only
reference in the various news articles I can find says "three times
further than Pluto" which would put it at either at 120 AU or 90-something
AU, depending on how you interpret that.

2. Is there a chance (and I realize this is a LONG shot) that the
"New Horizons" Pluto explorer set to launch in 2006 could be aimed
at Sedna after its Pluto fly-by?

No; they are on opposite sides of the Solar System.

There's simply no sense of any
relative direction in the articles I can find.

On 15 Mar 2004 08:15:15 -0800, (Hegemony
Cricket) wrote:

Some questions about this newly discovered solar system denizen.

1. How far away is it now? I'm assuming for something as distant and
dim as it is, it was spotted near its aphelion (75 AU). But the only
reference in the various news articles I can find says "three times
further than Pluto" which would put it at either at 120 AU or 90-something
AU, depending on how you interpret that.

2. Is there a chance (and I realize this is a LONG shot) that the
"New Horizons" Pluto explorer set to launch in 2006 could be aimed
at Sedna after its Pluto fly-by? There's simply no sense of any
relative direction in the articles I can find.

Nope, it's on the wrong side of the sun from Pluto.


http://www.gps.caltech.edu/~mbrown/sedna/


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Hegemony Cricket wrote:
Some questions about this newly discovered solar system denizen.

1. How far away is it now? I'm assuming for something as distant and
dim as it is, it was spotted near its aphelion (75 AU). But the only
reference in the various news articles I can find says "three times
further than Pluto" which would put it at either at 120 AU or 90-something
AU, depending on how you interpret that.

2. Is there a chance (and I realize this is a LONG shot) that the
"New Horizons" Pluto explorer set to launch in 2006 could be aimed
at Sedna after its Pluto fly-by? There's simply no sense of any
relative direction in the articles I can find.


--Mark
3. I heard that Sedna was 9 billion miles away, say 86 AU. In accordance
with Kepler's third law, this would give it a period of 798 years,
assuming a circular orbit.
The 10,000 year period cited would give a distance of 2154 AU.
This gives an eccentricity of .96 ( I think) assuming these are the
semi-major and semi-minor axes. (1-[86/2154) is that right. I've been
out of school a long time? :-)
If so, do they have enough data to determine that this body has that
eccentric an orbit, and if it does, what does that say about Sedna's
origin or nature?
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