Howdy all

I have noticed Astronomy questions have been a bit thin on the ground
recently so here goes.

Please name ALL Kuiper belt objects discovered so far with Moons.
Please name the moons as well.

Mongolia-ga

BTW I know GARs do not like the word ALL but I believe there may no
more than 10 of these discovered so far.

Dear Mongolia,

I managed to identify all 10 Kuiper Belt Objects with moons that have
been discovered to the present day. Most KBOs and

their moons do not have proper names yet, only designations. Here is the list:

Object: Pluto
Moon 1: Charon
Moon 2: Nix
Moon 3: Hydra

Object: 1998 WW31
Moon: S/2000 (1998 WW31) 1

Object: 2001 QT297
Moon: S/2001 (88611) 1

Object: 2001 QW322
Moon: S/2001 (2001 QW322) 1

Object: 1999 TC36
Moon 1: S/2001 (47171) 1

Object: 1998 SM165
Moon 1: S/2001 (26308) 1

Object: Logos (formerly 1997 CQ29)
Moon 1: Zoe (formerly S/2001 (1997 CQ29) 1)

Object: 2000 CF105
Moon: S/2002 (2000 CF105) 1

Object: 2001 QC298
Moon: S/2002 (2001 QC298) 1

Object: 2003 EL61
Moon: S/2005 (2003 EL61) 1


Hope this is what you were looking for!
Best regards,
Scriptor





Sources:

Johnston's Archive: Asteroids with Satellites
http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/astro/asteroidmoons.html

University of Hawaii: Kuiper Belt Page - Binary Kuiper Belt Objects
http://ifa.hawaii.edu/faculty/jewitt/kb/binaries.html

Monde.de: Monde von TNOs
http://www.monde.de/tnos.html

University of Maryland: Minor Planet Satellite Database
http://borg0.astro.umd.edu/~dwb/asteroid/db_view/

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Request for Answer Clarification by mongolia-ga on 14 Oct 2006 16:28 PDT

Hello Scriptor

Many thanks for your effort so far. Before I rate it, I would like to
tie up a couple of loose ends

- Where in your list is 2003 UB313 (unofficially known as Xena and Gabrielle)

- Your first link has the following reference:
  <<30 trans-Neptunian objects (one with two satellites, one with three    
  satellites).>> Your list appears to reference only one object (pluto) with
  multiple moons??

Regards

Mongolia

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Clarification of Answer by scriptor-ga on 14 Oct 2006 16:57 PDT

Dear Mongolia,

I must apologize for omitting 2003 UB313. I came across that object
during my research, but the first description I found described it as
"...a trans-Neptunian object (TNO), orbiting the Sun in a region of
space known as the scattered disc, just beyond the Kuiper belt...". I
read the "just beyond" as "almost, but only almost in the Kuiper
belt". I was wrong, as I must see now. I hope you accept my apologies
for this mistake I made. Please add to the list the following entry
(with the proper names the KBO and its satellite have been given now):

Object: Eris (formerly 2003 UB313; former inofficial name: Xena)
Moon: (136199) Eris I Dysnomia (formerly S/2005 (2003 UB313) 1;
inofficially: Gabrielle)

However, I can answer your second question at your satisfaction. The
Trans-Neptunian Object with two satellites is the asteroid 87 Sylvia,
with its moons Romulus and Remus. This is indeed a Trans-Neptunian
Object, but it is not not considered a Kuiper Belt Object.

Best regards,
Scriptor




Sources:
http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/astro/astmoons/am-136199.html
http://www.gps.caltech.edu/~mbrown/planetlila/
http://www.gps.caltech.edu/~mbrown/planetlila/moon/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eris_(dwarf_planet)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dysnomia_(moon)
http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/astro/astmoons/am-00087.html

Great!