Dwarf planets · Dwarf planet

Quaoar

About 43 AU from the Sun · Light crosses it in 0.0037 seconds

Across

1,110 km

Vs Earth

8.71% of Earth

Mass

0.02% of Earth

Open Quaoar in Cosmic Scale

About

Quaoar is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, about half the size of Pluto. In 2023 astronomers found it has a ring — far outside the distance at which rings are expected to clump together into a moon.

Has a ring far outside the distance where rings should be able to exist.

At a glance

Size	About 1,110 km
Orbit	289 years
Moon	Weywot
Discovered	2002

Did you know

1. Its ring is about seven times its own radius from its centre.
2. Crystalline water ice on its surface hints that it was warmed from inside not long ago.
3. It is named after the creator god of the Tongva people of Los Angeles.