Map of the Universe

Varuna

Asteroid · Large trans-neptunian object

Open in the map →

Varuna
Picture: Hubble Space Telescope/Michael E. Brown, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

About Varuna

On 2026-01-01, the date the map shows, Varuna was 44.2 AU from the Sun; sunlight takes 6.13 hours to reach it.

It goes round the Sun once every 283.9 years, at an average distance of 43.200 AU.

It is about 900 km across.

The map lists it as an asteroid (trans-Neptunian object) and shows it in the Solar System part of the map, drawn on the plane of Earth’s orbit (the ecliptic).

Key numbers

ClassTrans-Neptunian object
Semi-major axis43.200 AU
Orbital period283.9 years
Eccentricity0.0516
Inclination17.14°
Absolute magnitude (H)3.79
Diameter900.0 km
Distance from the Sun44.2 AU

Where it is

Its place in the universe, from the inside out: Solar System › Orion–Cygnus Arm (Local Arm) › Milky Way › Local Group › Virgo Supercluster › Laniakea Supercluster › Observable universe.

Zoom out to see it in context: Neptune and the Kuiper belt, a view about 110 AU across.

From Wikipedia

20000 Varuna (provisional designation 2000 WR106) is a large trans-Neptunian object in the Kuiper belt. It was discovered in November 2000 by American astronomer Robert McMillan during a Spacewatch survey at the Kitt Peak National Observatory.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article 20000 Varuna, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Nearby on the map