A classical Kuiper belt object, also called a cubewano ( /ˌkjuːbiːˈwʌnoʊ/ "QB1-o") is a low-eccentricity Kuiper belt object (KBO) that orbits beyond Neptune and is not controlled by an orbital resonance with Neptune. Cubewanos have orbits with semi-major axes in the 40–50 AU range and, unlike Pluto, do not cross Neptune’s orbit. That is, they have low-eccentricity and sometimes low-inclination orbits like the classical planets.
The name "cubewano" derives from the first trans-Neptunian object (TNO) found after Pluto and Charon, (15760) 1992 QB1. Similar objects found later were often called "QB1-o's", or "cubewanos", after this object, though the term "classical" is much more frequently used in the scientific literature.
Objects identified as cubewanos include:
- (15760) 1992 QB1
- Makemake, the largest known cubewano and a dwarf planet
- (50000) Quaoar and (20000) Varuna, each considered the largest TNO at the time of discovery
- 19521 Chaos, 58534 Logos, 53311 Deucalion, 66652 Borasisi, 88611 Teharonhiawako
- (33001) 1997 CU29, (55636) 2002 TX300, (55565) 2002 AW197, (55637) 2002 UX25
Haumea (2003 EL61) was provisionally listed as a cubewano by the Minor Planet Center in 2006, but turned out to be resonant.
Read more about Classical Kuiper Belt Object: Orbits: 'hot' and 'cold' Populations, Cold and Hot Populations: Physical Characteristics, Toward A Formal Definition, Families
Famous quotes containing the words classical, belt and/or object:
“Culture is a sham if it is only a sort of Gothic front put on an iron building—like Tower Bridge—or a classical front put on a steel frame—like the Daily Telegraph building in Fleet Street. Culture, if it is to be a real thing and a holy thing, must be the product of what we actually do for a living—not something added, like sugar on a pill.”
—Eric Gill (1882–1940)
“The shore is composed of a belt of smooth rounded white stones like paving-stones, excepting one or two short sand beaches, and is so steep that in many places a single leap will carry you into water over your head; and were it not for its remarkable transparency, that would be the last to be seen of its bottom till it rose on the opposite side. Some think it is bottomless.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“His eye begets occasion for his wit,
For every object that the one doth catch
The other turns to a mirth-moving jest.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)