2001 QW₃₂₂ is a trans-Neptunian object and binary system of the Kuiper belt, located in the outermost region of the Solar System. The cubewano was discovered at the Mauna Kea Observatories on 27 July 2001, by JJ Kavelaars, Jean-Marc Petit, Brett Gladman, and Matthew Holman. Later in 2001, Kavelaars discovered that it is a binary system. The diameter of the two components are estimated at 128 kilometers (80 miles) and 126 kilometers (78 miles).^[4]

In 2008, work was published showing that the binary has an extraordinarily long orbital period (for a binary trans-Neptunian object, asteroid or minor planet) of about 17 years.^[5] The orbital radius is also remarkably high (105,000 to 135,000 km) while the eccentricity is unusually low (< 0.4). All of these parameters are in the extremes of their normal ranges for such objects.^[5] The wide spacing and low eccentricity conspire to make the system prone to disruption, and its lifetime is estimated to be in the order of another billion years.^[5]

• The Extreme Kuiper Belt Binary 2001 QW₃₂₂, Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes, 13 December 2010
• Trans-Neptunian Binaries and the History of the Outer Solar System, Gemini Observatory, 22 August 2011
• A Highly-split Kuiper Belt Pair, Gemini Observatory, 28 October 2008
• Kuiper belt pair sets record for long-distance relationship, New Scientist, 16 October 2008
• 2001 QW322 at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit viewer · Orbit parameters · Physical parameters