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Sedna

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Encyclopedia of Astrobiology

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Definition

The trans-Neptunian object (90377) Sedna was discovered in November 2003 by Michael Brown, Chadwick Trujillo, and David Rabinowitz. Its orbit is very elliptical, with a perihelion at 76 AU and an aphelion at 975 AU. Its orbital period is about 11,000 years. Its diameter is estimated between 1,200 and 1,600 km and its albedo is about 0.16. It is of a dark red color with little methane or water ice, which suggests the presence of hydrocarbon deposits (or tholins) on its surface. Sedna has been classified as a “detached” trans-Neptunian object, which have also been called “extended-scattered” objects or “distant detached objects” (DDO), or as a member of the inner Oort Cloud.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. LESIA – Bâtiment ISO (n°17), Observatoire de Paris – Section de Meudon, 5, Place Jules Janssen, 92195, Meudon, France

    Therese Encrenaz

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  1. Therese Encrenaz
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Correspondence to Therese Encrenaz .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  2. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  3. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

    William M. Irvine

  6. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Encrenaz, T. (2014). Sedna. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1417-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1417-3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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