TNO
Science & Engineering abbreviation · Astronomy & Space
| Stands for | Trans-Neptunian object |
|---|---|
| Categories | Science & Engineering |
TNO stands for Trans-Neptunian object, an astronomy & Space abbreviation.
Any solar system body that orbits the Sun at a greater average distance than Neptune. The category includes Kuiper belt objects, scattered-disk objects such as the dwarf planet Eris, and distant bodies like Sedna that never come close to the planets.
Example: The newly found TNO takes more than 1,000 years to complete one orbit.
Usage notes
Mike Brown, Chad Trujillo and David Rabinowitz announced Eris in 2005; it is slightly smaller than Pluto but more massive, and its discovery prompted the IAU to define "planet" in 2006. Clustering in the orbits of some distant TNOs has been proposed as evidence for an undiscovered Planet Nine.
Related abbreviations
More astronomy & Space abbreviations
- SN – Supernova
- SOHO – Solar and Heliospheric Observatory
- SRB – Solid rocket booster
- SSO – Sun-synchronous orbit
- TESS – Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite
- TLI – Trans-lunar injection
- UAP – Unidentified anomalous phenomena
- UFO – Unidentified flying object
- VLA – Very Large Array
- VLT – Very Large Telescope
- WD – White dwarf
- WIMP – Weakly interacting massive particle