2014 FC69

2014 FC₆₉ is a trans-Neptunian object of the scattered disc on an eccentric orbit in the outermost region of the Solar System. It was first observed on 25 March 2014, by American astronomers Scott Sheppard and Chad Trujillo at the Cerro Tololo Observatory in Chile.^[1] It is one of the most distant objects from the Sun, even further away than Sedna.

2014 FC₆₉

Orbital diagram of 2014 FC69
Discovery[1]
Discovered by	S. S. Sheppard C. Trujillo
Discovery site	Cerro Tololo Obs.
Discovery date	25 March 2014
Designations
MPC designation	2014 FC69
Minor planet category	TNO[2] · SDO[3][4] near-scattered (DES)[5]
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch 1 July 2021 (JD 2459396.5)
Uncertainty parameter 6[1] · 7[2]
Observation arc	1.87 yr (682 d)
Aphelion	104.21 AU
Perihelion	40.091 AU
Semi-major axis	72.150 AU
Eccentricity	0.4443
Orbital period (sidereal)	612.86 yr (223,847 d)
Mean anomaly	91.584°
Mean motion	0° 0m 5.76s / day
Inclination	30.024°
Longitude of ascending node	250.26°
Argument of perihelion	189.01°
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter	533 km (est.)[4][6]
Absolute magnitude (H)	4.7[1][2]

Orbit and classification

As of 2021^[update] and based on an orbital uncertainty of 6–7 and an observation arc of only 682 days, 2014 FC₆₉ orbits the Sun at a distance of 40.1–104.2 AU once every 612 years and 10 months (223,847 days; semi-major axis of 72.15 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.44 and an inclination of 30° with respect to the ecliptic.^[2]

Based on the best-fit (albeit uncertain) orbital solution, 2014 FC₆₉ is a scattered disc object,^[4] or "near-scattered" in the classification of the Deep Ecliptic Survey,^[5] that still interacts gravitationally with Neptune due to its relatively low perihelion of 40.1 AU, contrary to the extended-scattered/detached objects and sednoids which never approach Neptune as close as 2014 FC₆₉ does.

Most distant objects from the Sun

2014 FC₆₉ last came to perihelion around 1865,^[2] moving away from the Sun ever since and is currently about 85.6 AU from the Sun,^[7] which is further away than the dwarf planet Sedna. Other than long-period comets, it is the 10th-most-distant known larger body in the Solar System (also see List of Solar System objects most distant from the Sun § Known distant objects).^[8]

Physical characteristics

Based on a generic magnitude-to-diameter conversion from its magnitude of 4.6, 2014 FC₆₉ is approximately 533 kilometers (330 miles) in diameter, assuming an albedo of 0.09.^[4][6]

As of 2021^[update], no rotational lightcurve for this object has been obtained from photometric observations. The body's rotation period, pole and shape remain unknown.^[2]

See also

• List of Solar System objects most distant from the Sun