5145 Pholus
The astronomical object 5145 Pholus, discovered on January 9, 1992, is classed as a centaur, orbiting between the orbits of Planet Jupiter and Planet Uranus.[1][2]
At an estimated diameter of 190 kilometres (120 mi) it is one of the largest centaurs.[1]
Astronomers believe Pholus was created in the Kuiper Belt, and only recently entered into the planetary zone.[1]
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2
D. P. Cruikshank; T. L. Roush; M. J. Bartholomew; T. R. Geballe; Y. J. Pendleton; S. M. White; J. F. Bell, III; J. K. Davies; T. C. Owen; C. de Bergh; D. J. Tholen; M. P. Bernstein; R. H. Brown; K. A. Tryka; C. M. Dalle Ore (1999-04-29). "The Composition of Centaur 5145 Pholus" (PDF). Icarus (journal). 135: 389–407. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2025-09-14. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
While the orbit of Pholus is comet-like, its dimensions are an order of magnitude greater than those of a typical comet nucleus and are more similar to many asteroids
- ↑
M.C. De Sanctis; M.T. Capria; A. Coradini; R. Orosei (September 2000). "Thermal Evolution of the Centaur Object 5145 Pholus". The Astronomical Journal. 120 (3): 1571-1578. doi:10.1086/301512. Archived from the original on 2023-11-24. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
The most likely source of Centaurs is the Edgeworth-Kuiper belt: dynamical studies and physical properties suggest that Pholus recently entered the planetary zone.