File:Salacia_and_Actaea_Keck-NIRC2_brightened.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Key facts
- Discovered by
- H. G. Roe , M. E. Brown , K. M. Barkume
- Discovery site
- Palomar Obs.
- Discovery date
- 22 September 2004
- Pronunciation
- / s ə ˈ l eɪ ʃ ə / ( sə- LAY -shə )
- Named after
- Salacia (Roman mythology)
- Alternative designations
- 2004 SB 60
- Minor planet category
- TNO · classical (hot) , extended
- Adjectives
- Salacian
- Symbol
- or (rare)
- Observation arc
- 37.16 yr (13,572 days)
- Earliest precovery date
- 25 July 1982
- Aphelion
- 46.670 AU
- Perihelion
- 37.697 AU
- Semi major axis
- 42.184 AU
- Orbital period sidereal
- 273.98 yr (100,073 days)
- Mean anomaly
- 123.138 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 0 12.951 / day
- Inclination
- 23.921°
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Diameter
- 838
- Radius
- 419
- Orbital period
- 99827.0405705826
- Image
- Salacia and Actaea Keck-NIRC2.jpg
Show 18 more facts
- semi-major axis of an orbit
- 42.11464843967681
- time of discovery or invention
- 2004-09-22
- provisional designation
- 2004 SB60
- albedo
- 0.042
- apparent magnitude
- 20.7
- rotation period
- 6.09
- Commons category
- 120347 Salacia
- color index
- 0.83
- density
- 1.50
- absolute magnitude
- 4.13
- orbital eccentricity
- 0.1033785423818052
- periapsis
- 37.76089747106086
- apoapsis
- 46.46839940829277
- orbital inclination
- 23.92712612803199
- longitude of ascending node
- 280.2626294700405
- argument of periapsis
- 309.4776089675871
- mean anomaly
- 133.4612790643565
- time of periapsis
- 2423992.0430006683
via Wikidata · CC0
~23 min read
Article
120347 Salacia (provisional designation 2004 SB60) is a large trans-Neptunian object in the Kuiper belt. It was discovered on 22 September 2004 by American astronomers Henry G. Roe, Michael E. Brown, and Kristina Barkume using the Hale Reflector at the Palomar Observatory. Its discovery was officially announced in May 2005. Salacia orbits the Sun at an average distance slightly greater than that of Pluto, and is classified as a hot cubewano or a scattered–extended object. It was named after the Roman sea goddess Salacia.
Salacia is a possible dwarf planet with an estimated diameter of 838±44 km, and a low light curve, implying a nearly spherical shape. While older size estimates suggested a low density and highly porous interior, newer measurements calculate a higher density between 1.45 g/cm and 1.50±0.12 g/cm. It has a dark gray surface with a neutral color index and an exceptionally low albedo of 0.041±0.004. This low albedo indicates a lack of geological activity. Observations by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) showed that water ice makes up less than 5% of its surface, detecting both amorphous and crystalline water ice alongside carbon dioxide ice. It lacks volatile super-ices like methane, placing it in the "prominent water" (H2O-type) TNO group alongside objects like 307261 Máni and 90482 Orcus.