We Are the Night Watchmen
SENTINEL


10/9/02 8:11:13 AM Pacific Daylight Time

Two quick notes:

There is no direct reference to PX in the CSPAN broadcast, which was
addressing NEOs, however the question was asked, how large of an object
would it take to knock the Earth off it's axis.  However I believe they
were referring to the force required from a direct impact.   PX will not
impact the Earth, it will simply interfere with it's stasis field.

=======================

Quaoar is suspected to be a KBO (iceball) approx. 800 miles in diameter
who's 285 year orbit, which is inclined 8 degrees off the ecliptic, is
approx. 7 billion miles out from the sun and who's perigee occasionally
brings it within Neptune's orbital path.  Quaoar's current position is
approx. 180 degrees opposite to the direction from which PX was recently
sited and photographed.

Here is a link to a paper submitted by it's discoverers Chad Trujillo and
Mike Brown of Caltech;
http://www.gps.caltech.edu/~mbrown/papers/ps/qu.pdf
Here is a cool animated link of it's orbital path ;
http://www.gps.caltech.edu/~chad/quaoar/quaoarorbit.gif
The following graphic compares Quaoar's current position to that of PX.

Note:  On it's outbound passage PX will pass relatively close to Quaoar and
Pluto's orbits.  Maybe it will add them to it's traveling contingency of
moons?  Or possibly both were left behind from some of PX's previous
passages?


SENTINEL WATCH