~440 km
ESTIMATED DIAMETER
~9.5 DAYS
ORBITAL PERIOD
~9,000 km
DISTANCE FROM ORCUS
2005
DISCOVERED
ORCUS
PARENT BODY
LARGE
RELATIVE SIZE
THE COMPANION OF ORCUS
Vanth is the natural satellite of the
dwarf planet Orcus, located in the
distant Kuiper Belt.
It was discovered in 2005 by
astronomer Mike Brown and his team
using observations from the
Hubble Space Telescope.
Vanth is unusually large compared
with its parent body. This makes the
Orcus–Vanth system more similar to
a binary system than a typical
planet–moon pair.
Vanth orbits Orcus at a distance of
roughly 9,000 kilometres and completes
one revolution in about 9.5 Earth days.
The surface composition and origin of
Vanth are still not completely known.
Scientists believe it may contain
water ice and other frozen materials.
VANTH FEATURES
LARGE COMPANION
Vanth is exceptionally large relative
to Orcus, making the pair one of the
most unusual systems in the Kuiper Belt.
KUIPER BELT
Vanth orbits far beyond Neptune in
the cold outer region of the Solar
System.
HUBBLE DISCOVERY
Vanth was discovered in 2005 using
the Hubble Space Telescope.
DID YOU KNOW?
Vanth is so large compared with Orcus
that the pair is sometimes described as
a binary-like system.
A LARGE COMPANION TO ORCUS
Vanth is the large known moon of Orcus. Its orbital period and distance from Orcus provide the measurements needed to calculate the total mass of the system through orbital dynamics.
The relative sizes and surface properties of Orcus and Vanth are also used to test formation scenarios, including whether the pair could have been shaped by a major collision in the early outer Solar System.
ORBONIX · KUIPER BELT
ORCUS · VANTH SYSTEM
ORCUS · VANTH SYSTEM