The name was published by the Minor Planet Center on 26 November 2004 ( M.P.C. While Pluto (of Greek origin) was the ruler of the underworld, Orcus (of Etruscan origin) was a punisher of the condemned. The minor planet Orcus was named after one of the Roman gods of the underworld, Orcus. Precovery images taken by the Palomar Observatory as early as 8 November 1951 were later obtained from the Digitized Sky Survey. Orcus was discovered on 17 February 2004, by American astronomers Michael Brown of Caltech, Chad Trujillo of the Gemini Observatory, and David Rabinowitz of Yale University. History Discovery Discovery image of Orcus taken in 2004 This was a major consideration in selecting its name, as the deity Orcus was the Roman/ Etruscan equivalent of the Roman/ Greek Pluto. Because of these similarities and contrasts, along with its large moon Vanth that recalls Pluto's large moon Charon, Orcus has been regarded as the anti-Pluto. The perihelion of Orcus's orbit is around 120° from that of Pluto, while the eccentricities and inclinations are similar. Orcus is the largest known plutino after Pluto itself. This is much like Pluto, except that the phase of Orcus's orbit is opposite to Pluto's: Orcus is at aphelion (most recently in 2019) around when Pluto is at perihelion (most recently in 1989) and vice versa. Orcus is a plutino, a trans-Neptunian object that is locked in a 2:3 resonance with the ice giant Neptune, making two revolutions around the Sun to every three of Neptune's. Orcus was discovered by American astronomers Michael Brown, Chad Trujillo, and David Rabinowitz on 17 February 2004. Other compounds like methane or ammonia may also be present on its surface. The ice is predominantly in crystalline form, which may be related to past cryovolcanic activity. The surface of Orcus is relatively bright with albedo reaching 23 percent, neutral in color and rich in water ice. It has a diameter of 870 to 960 km (540 to 600 mi), the size of or somewhat smaller than the asteroid Ceres. Orcus ( minor-planet designation 90482 Orcus, provisional designation 2004 DW) is a trans-Neptunian dwarf planet with a large moon, Vanth.
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