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Kuiper Belt Object 1110113Y
A Kuiper Belt object (KBO) that is potentially reachable by NASA's Pluto-bound New Horizons probe is visible in multiple exposures taken with the Hubble Space Telescope. Hubble tracked the KBO (named 1110113Y or "PT1") moving against the crowded background field of stars in the constellation Sagittarius. The object is no bigger than 19 to 28 miles across, and it is a deep-freeze relic of what the outer solar system was like 4.6 billion years ago, during the period when the Sun formed. As the KBO orbits the Sun, its position noticeably shifts between exposures taken approximately 10 minutes apart. Following an initial proof of concept of the Hubble pilot observing program in June, the New Horizons team was awarded telescope time by the Space Telescope Science Institute for a wider survey in July. When the search was completed in early September, the team identified this KBO as "definitely reachable" by the New Horizons spacecraft.
About the Object
- DistanceDistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.1110113Y was roughly 4 billion miles (43 A.U.) from Earth at the time of observation.
About the Data
- Data DescriptionData DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.The image was created from Hubble data from the following proposal: 13633 PI: J. Spencer (Southwest Research Institute), H. Weaver (JHU/APL), M. Buie (Southwest Research Institute), M. Showalter (SETI Institute), D. Borncamp (STScI), C. Fuentes (Northern Arizona University), A. Stern (Southwest Research Institute), J. Kavelaars (National Research Council of Canada), M. Belton (NOAO), and J.-M. Petit (CNRS, Observatoire de Besancon). - InstrumentInstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.HST>WFC3/UVIS
- Exposure DatesExposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.June 24, 2014 Exposure Time: 31 minutes (5 x 370 seconds)
- FiltersFiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.F350LP (long pass)
- Object NameObject NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.1110113Y
- Object DescriptionObject DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.Kuiper Belt Object
- Release DateOctober 15, 2014
- Science ReleaseNASA’s Hubble Telescope Finds Potential Kuiper Belt Targets for New Horizons Pluto Mission
- Credits
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Last Updated
Feb 17, 2025
Contact
Media
Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
