Quaoar

noun

Qua·​oar ˈkwä(-ə)-ˌwär How to pronounce Quaoar (audio)
astronomy
: a probable dwarf planet that orbits far beyond the orbit of Neptune with a mean distance from the sun of about 43.4 astronomical units (4.03 billion miles) and a diameter of approximately 890 miles (1430 kilometers)
Discovered by Brown and his colleagues in 2002, Quaoar took center stage at a session of the planetary science meeting in Puerto Rico.Ron Cowen, Science News, 16 Jan. 2010

Note: Quaoar is believed to qualify as a dwarf planet under the current definition of that term, but precise identification of its characteristics is made difficult by its distance from the Earth.

Word History

First Known Use

2002, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of Quaoar was in 2002

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Cite this Entry

“Quaoar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Quaoar. Accessed 14 Nov. 2024.

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