Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

Quaoar: Large Asteroid in the Outer Solar System

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for October 9, 2002 is “Quaoar: Large Asteroid in the Outer Solar System,” an image. It is credited to Credit: Chad Trujillo & Michael Brown ( Caltech ). The original explanation runs about 129 words.

Quaoar: Large Asteroid in the Outer Solar System
Credit: Chad Trujillo & Michael Brown ( Caltech ) Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“Asteroids almost as large as planets are still being discovered in our own Solar System . Recently an asteroid more than half the size of Pluto was found orbiting at a distance only a little further than the Solar System’s most distant planet .”

— APOD editors, October 9, 2002

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
October 9, 2002
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Chad Trujillo & Michael Brown ( Caltech )
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 129 words

All of October 2002 → · 2002 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

Asteroids

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

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Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.