(486958) Arrokoth Trans-Neptunian Object
Discovered on 26 June 2014 by Buie, M. W., New Horizons Search Team at HST.
Arrokoth is the word for “sky” from the Powhatan language of native people from the Chesapeake Bay region. Institutions in this region played a prominent role in facilitating the discovery and exploration of this ancient and distant object.Naming citation (MPC batch dated 2019-12-12), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Arrokoth is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Arrokoth is 43.0 au from the Sun and 43.0 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 486958 |
| Provisional designation | 2014 MU69 |
| Orbit class | Trans-Neptunian Object |
| Rotation period | 15.9 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 11.06 |
| Orbital period | 292 years |
| Semi-major axis | 44.1 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 42.5 – 45.6 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0356 |
| Inclination | 2.45° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 41.5 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.