Discovery of the Bright Trans-Neptunian Object 2000 EB[TINF]173[/TINF]

Abstract

We describe the discovery circumstances and photometric properties of 2000 EB173, now one of the brightest trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) with opposition magnitude mR=18.9 and also one of the largest Plutinos, found with the drift-scanning camera of the Quasar Equatorial Survey Team, attached to the 1 m Schmidt telescope of the National Observatory of Venezuela. We measure B-V=0.99+/-0.14 and V-R=0.57+/-0.05, a red color observed for many fainter TNOs. At our magnitude limit mR=20.1+/-0.20, our single detection reveals a sky density of 0.015+0.034-0.012 TNOs per square degree (the error bars are 68% confidence limits), consistent with fainter surveys showing a cumulative number proportional to 100.5mR. Assuming an inclination distribution of TNOs with FWHM exceeding 30°, it is likely that 100 to several hundred objects brighter than mR=20.1 remain to be discovered.