(55638) 2002 VE₉₅

(55638) 2002 VE₉₅
Discovery
Discovered by	NEAT
Discovery site	Palomar Obs.
Discovery date	14 November 2002
Designations
MPC designation	(55638) 2002 VE₉₅
Alternative designations	2002 VE₉₅
Minor planet category	TNO · plutino
Orbital characteristics
Epoch 5 May 2025 (JD 2460800.5)
Uncertainty parameter 2 · 0
Observation arc	33.33 yr (12,175 d)
Earliest precovery date	12 October 1990
Aphelion	51.242 AU
Perihelion	28.023 AU
Semi-major axis	39.633 AU
Eccentricity	0.2929
Orbital period (sidereal)	249.51 yr (91,134 d)
Mean anomaly	33.584°
Mean motion	0° 0^m 14.4^s / day
Inclination	16.324°
Longitude of ascending node	199.71°
Time of perihelion	29 June 2001
Argument of perihelion	207.89°
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter	249.8+13.5 −13.1 km
Synodic rotation period	6.76 h (ambiguous)
Geometric albedo	0.149
Spectral type	RR (very red) B–V = 1.080±0.030 V–R = 0.710±0.020 V–I = 1.480±0.130 B–R = 1.800±0.040
Apparent magnitude	20.64
Absolute magnitude (H)	5.3 5.70±0.06

(55638) 2002 VE₉₅ (provisional designation 2002 VE₉₅) is a trans-Neptunian object from the outermost region of the Solar System. It was discovered on 14 November 2002, by astronomers with the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking program at the Palomar Observatory in California, United States. This resonant trans-Neptunian object is a member of the plutino population, locked in a 2:3 resonance with Neptune. The object is likely of primordial origin with a heterogeneous surface and a notably reddish color (RR) attributed to the presence of methanol and tholins. It has a poorly defined rotation period of 6.8 hours and measures approximately 250 kilometers (160 miles) in diameter.