174567 Varda

trans-Neptunian object

Ilmarë, formal designation '''''', is the only known moon of the large Kuiper belt object 174567 Varda. It was discovered by Keith Noll et al. in 2009, at a separation of about 0.12 arcsec, using discovery images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope on 26 April 2009, and reported in 2011. At approximately 403 km in diameter (about 45% that of its primary), it is the fourth-largest known moon of a trans-Neptunian object, after Pluto I Charon, Eris I Dysnomia, and Orcus I Vanth. Assuming that Ilmarë has the same albedo and density as Varda, Ilmarë would constitute approximately 8.4% of the s