Facts about Gonggong

1. 08

   Gonggong's extremely slow rotation period of approximately 22 hours makes it spin considerably faster than many other comparable dwarf planets in the distant solar system.

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2. 07

   Gonggong's discovery by astronomers at Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawaii occurred on June 26, 2012, during observations conducted with a wide-field imaging instrument.

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3. 06

   Gonggong's extremely distant orbit carries it up to 101 astronomical units from the Sun, making it recede nearly three times farther than Neptune reaches at its farthest point.

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4. 05

   Gonggong's discovery in 2012 made it the third-largest known object in the scattered disk, following only Eris and Pluto in that region.

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5. 04

   Approximately 1,800 kilometers wide, Gonggong ranks among the largest known objects in the scattered disk region of our solar system.

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6. 03

   Gonggong's reddish surface coloration suggests the presence of tholins, complex organic molecules created when ultraviolet light interacts with methane and water ice.

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7. 02

   In 2012, astronomers named the newly discovered object after Gonggong, a water deity from Chinese mythology who supposedly caused chaos and flooded ancient lands.

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8. 01

   The dwarf planet Gonggong, discovered in 2012, orbits the Sun once every 554 Earth years at distances between 34 and 101 astronomical units.

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