19521_Chaos
19521 Chaos
Classical Kuiper belt object
19521 Chaos is a cubewano, a Kuiper-belt object not in resonance with any planet. Chaos was discovered in 1998 by the Deep Ecliptic Survey with Kitt Peak's 4 m telescope. Its albedo is 0.050+0.030
−0.016,[8] making it, with its absolute magnitude (H) of 4.8,[4] equivalent to a single spherical body 600+140
−130 km in diameter.[8]
On 20 November 2020, Chaos occulted a magnitude 16.8 star. Three observers detected the occultation, finding that the object is likely smaller than 600 km in diameter.[10] Another occultation was recorded on 14 January 2022; full results on size, shape, geometric albedo, and the spin-axis orientation have not been released[needs update].[11] A further occultation occurred on 28 September 2023, with a shadow crossing most of North America. This occultation was observed by over 30 observers;[12] preliminary analysis suggests that Chaos is a binary (possibly a contact binary).[13]