Asteroids with Satellites Database--Johnston's Archive

(174567) Varda and IImare

compiled by Wm. Robert Johnston
last updated 9 October 2021

--Orbital and physical data--

(See this page for definitions of quantities; source codes in brackets, see this link for full references; *A, *D, and *E indicate assumed, derived, and estimated values, respectively.)

dynamical type, primary: TNO, Cubewano


orbital data, primary (osculating elements) [JPL] :
semimajor axis a: 45.63423503 AU
orbital period P: 308.2793002 yr
(= 112599.0144 d)
eccentricity e: 0.141676948
perihelion distance q: 39.1689159 AU
aphelion distance Q: 52.09955415 AU
inclination i: 21.50449895°
argument of perihelion ω: 184.3104877°
ascending node Ω: 184.0316775°
mean anomaly M: 263.7013967°
perihelion passage TP: 2096 Nov 07
Epoch: 2014 May 23
data arc: 1980-2010 (72 obs.)
Earth MOID: 38.1672 AU
Jupiter Tisserand invariant TJ: 5.569
Neptune Tisserand invariant TN:2.92813717406328 [*D]


orbital data, secondary:
semimajor axis as: 4800 ± 20 km [G14a]
separation/primary radius as/rp:14 [*D]
separation/Hill radius as/rH:0.0023 [*D]
orbital period Ps: 5.7508 ± 0.0001 d [G14a]
eccentricity es: 0.017 ± 0.003 [G14a]
normalized ang. mom. αL: ?

other data, system (combined):
absolute mag. H: 3.4 [MPC]
3.61 ± 0.05 [V14a]
slope parameter G: (0.15) [*A]
effective diameter dE: 792 ± 91/84 km [V14a]
geometric albedo: 0.102 ± 0.024/0.02 [V14a]
color index U-B: ?
color index B-V: 0.9 [P13c]
color index V-R:0.55 ± 0.04 [P13c]
color index B-R:1.45 ± 0.06 [P13c]
color index V-I:1.07 ± 0.05 [P13c]
taxonomic type: IR (G-mode) [P13c]
mass m: 2.65x1020 ± 3.9x1018 kg [V14a]
density ρ: 1.24 ± 0.04 g/cm3[G15c]
Hill radius rH: 2100000 km [*D]

other data, primary:
diameter dp: 705 ± 81/75 km [V14a]
rotation period RPp: 5.91 h [T14a]
amplitude in mag., rotational ΔM: 0.04 ± 0.01 [T14a]
pole direction Β, λ: ? , ?


other data, secondary:
diameter ds: 326 ± 38 km [G15c]
diameter ratio ds/dp: 0.45 ± 0.009 [G15c]
component mag. difference ΔM: 1.73 ± 0.04 [*D]
rotation period RPs: ?

-- (174567) Varda and IImare --discovery and notes:

Primary discovered 2003 Jun 21 from Kitt Peak Observatory, Arizona, USA by J. A. Larsen. Alternate designation(s): 2003 MW12 . Linked to prediscovery observations from 1980 Mar 19. Permanent number assigned 2008 Jan 22.

Named 2014 Jan 16 for the fictional goddess in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings [MPC086715].

Companion discovered 2009 Apr 26 by W. M. Grundy, S. D. Benecchi, M. W. Buie, K. S. Noll, S. B. Porter, H. G. Roe, J. A. Stansberry, and C. A. Trujillo using Hubble Space Telescope observations from Hubble Space Telescope. Announced 2011 Sep [G11b]. Permanent designation I IImare, assigned 2014 Jan 16; named for the character in J. R. R. Tolkien's fiction [MPC86715].

--Links, more technical:

--Links, less technical:

--Links to ADS abstracts:


© 2011-2015, 2021 by Wm. Robert Johnston.
Last modified 9 October 2021.
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