2011 JY31
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This minor planet has not been numbered by the Minor Planet Center and remains unnamed.[1]
Physical parameters
High resolution observation by the New Horizons spacecraft made it possible to estimate the parameters of the binary orbit and the system mass. Assuming that the orbit is circular the period is 46.62±0.06 h, semimajor axis is 198.6±2.9 km and the system mass is about 1.7×1017 kg. The components are approximately equal in size and are approximately 68 km in size assuming density of 0.5 kg/cm3.[7]
The discovery adds support to streaming instability as the dominant mechanism in the formation of tight and contact binary planetesimals such as 486958 Arrokoth, which appear to be prevalent in the cold classical Kuiper belt population.[10][11][7]
