Cosmic Scale
Quaoar
Dwarf planet · About 43 AU from the Sun
How big is Quaoar?
Quaoar is about 1,110 km across.
See Quaoar in 3D, at true scale
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.
At a glance
| Diameter | 1,110 km |
|---|---|
| Mass | 1.20 × 10²¹ kg |
| Diameter compared with Earth | 0.087 × Earth |
| Size | About 1,110 km |
| Orbit | 289 years |
| Moon | Weywot |
| Discovered | 2002 |
Good to know
- Its ring is about seven times its own radius from its centre.
- Crystalline water ice on its surface hints that it was warmed from inside not long ago.
- It is named after the creator god of the Tongva people of Los Angeles.