Orbital Characterization of a Newly Discovered Small Satellite Around Quaoar

TL;DR

This paper characterizes a newly discovered small satellite around Quaoar, revealing its orbit, discussing observational challenges, and implications for the origin of Quaoar's ring system, with prospects for future detection using advanced telescopes.

Contribution

It provides the first orbital characterization of the satellite, discusses observational limitations, and explores implications for Quaoar's ring formation and evolution.

Findings

Satellite likely on a 3.6-day orbit near a 5:3 resonance.

Current telescopes struggle to detect the satellite directly.

Future 30-meter-class telescopes may successfully observe the satellite.

Abstract

Recent observations of a stellar occultation have revealed the presence of a previously undiscovered small satellite around Quaoar. Orbiting near Quaoar's unusual ring system, this new satellite has the potential to provide significant insights into the formation and evolution of Quaoar and its ring system. In this letter, we characterize the orbit of this newly discovered satellite, finding that it is likely on a $3.6^{+0.5}_{-0.3}$-day orbit, plausibly placing it near a 5:3 mean motion resonance with Quaoar's outermost known ring. Examining the possibility of observing the newly discovered satellite with further stellar occultations, we estimate that $\sim$hundreds of observing stations are required for recovery, since phase information about its orbit was rapidly lost after the lone detection. We also attempted to recover the satellite in JWST NIRCam imaging of Quaoar, but find no convincing detection. This non-detection is limited by the accuracy of the available NIRCam PSF models, as well as the satellite's extreme faintness and close-in orbital separation. Therefore, current-generation telescopes will likely struggle to directly image this new satellite, but near-future 30-meter-class telescopes should prove capable of detecting it. Discovery of such a satellite provides evidence that the rings around Quaoar may have been part of an initially broad collisional disk that has evolved considerably since its formation. To further explore this hypothesis, we encourage follow-up observations of the rings and satellites with stellar occultations and direct imaging, as well as updated hydrodynamical, collisional, and tidal modeling of the system.