Composition and Surface Properties of Transneptunian Objects and Centaurs
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Observational Constraints on Surface Characteristics of Comet Nuclei
Observational Constraints on Surface Characteristics of Comet Nuclei Humberto Campins ([email protected] u) Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona Yanga Fernandez University of Hawai'i Abstract. Direct observations of the nuclear surfaces of comets have b een dicult; however a growing number of studies are overcoming observational challenges and yielding new information on cometary surfaces. In this review, we fo cus on recent determi- nations of the alb edos, re ectances, and thermal inertias of comet nuclei. There is not much diversity in the geometric alb edo of the comet nuclei observed so far (a range of 0.025 to 0.06). There is a greater diversity of alb edos among the Centaurs, and the sample of prop erly observed TNOs (2) is still to o small. Based on their alb edos and Tisserand invariants, Fernandez et al. (2001) estimate that ab out 5% of the near-Earth asteroids have a cometary origin, and place an upp er limit of 10%. The agreement between this estimate and two other indep endent metho ds provide the strongest constraint to date on the fraction of ob jects that comets contribute to the p opulation of near-Earth asteroids. There is a diversity of visible colors among comets, extinct comet candidates, Centaurs and TNOs. Comet nuclei are clearly not as red as the reddest Centaurs and TNOs. What Jewitt (2002) calls ultra-red matter seems to be absent from the surfaces of comet nuclei. Rotationally resolved observations of b oth colors and alb edos are needed to disentangle the e ects of rotational variability from other intrinsic qualities. -
Surface Characteristics of Transneptunian Objects and Centaurs from Photometry and Spectroscopy
Barucci et al.: Surface Characteristics of TNOs and Centaurs 647 Surface Characteristics of Transneptunian Objects and Centaurs from Photometry and Spectroscopy M. A. Barucci and A. Doressoundiram Observatoire de Paris D. P. Cruikshank NASA Ames Research Center The external region of the solar system contains a vast population of small icy bodies, be- lieved to be remnants from the accretion of the planets. The transneptunian objects (TNOs) and Centaurs (located between Jupiter and Neptune) are probably made of the most primitive and thermally unprocessed materials of the known solar system. Although the study of these objects has rapidly evolved in the past few years, especially from dynamical and theoretical points of view, studies of the physical and chemical properties of the TNO population are still limited by the faintness of these objects. The basic properties of these objects, including infor- mation on their dimensions and rotation periods, are presented, with emphasis on their diver- sity and the possible characteristics of their surfaces. 1. INTRODUCTION cally with even the largest telescopes. The physical char- acteristics of Centaurs and TNOs are still in a rather early Transneptunian objects (TNOs), also known as Kuiper stage of investigation. Advances in instrumentation on tele- belt objects (KBOs) and Edgeworth-Kuiper belt objects scopes of 6- to 10-m aperture have enabled spectroscopic (EKBOs), are presumed to be remnants of the solar nebula studies of an increasing number of these objects, and signifi- that have survived over the age of the solar system. The cant progress is slowly being made. connection of the short-period comets (P < 200 yr) of low We describe here photometric and spectroscopic studies orbital inclination and the transneptunian population of pri- of TNOs and the emerging results. -
The Active Centaurs
The Astronomical Journal, 137:4296–4312, 2009 May doi:10.1088/0004-6256/137/5/4296 C 2009. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. THE ACTIVE CENTAURS David Jewitt Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA; [email protected] Received 2009 January 5; accepted 2009 February 24; published 2009 April 3 ABSTRACT The Centaurs are recent escapees from the Kuiper Belt that are destined either to meet fiery oblivion in the hot inner regions of the solar system or to be ejected to the interstellar medium by gravitational scattering from the giant planets. Dynamically evolved Centaurs, when captured by Jupiter and close enough to the Sun for near-surface water ice to sublimate, are conventionally labeled as “short-period” (specifically, Jupiter-family) comets. Remarkably, some Centaurs show comet-like activity even when far beyond the orbit of Jupiter, suggesting mass loss driven by a process other than the sublimation of water ice. We observed a sample of 23 Centaurs and found nine to be active, with mass-loss rates measured from several kg s−1 to several tonnes s−1. Considered as a group, we find that the “active Centaurs” in our sample have perihelia smaller than the inactive Centaurs (median 5.9 AU versus 8.7 AU), and smaller than the median perihelion distance computed for all known Centaurs (12.4 AU). This suggests that their activity is thermally driven. We consider several possibilities for the origin of the mass loss from the active Centaurs. Most are too cold for activity at the observed levels to originate via the sublimation of crystalline water ice. -
Visible and Near-Infrared Colors of Transneptunian Objects and Centaurs from the Second ESO Large Program
A&A 493, 283–290 (2009) Astronomy DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361:200810561 & c ESO 2008 Astrophysics Visible and near-infrared colors of Transneptunian objects and Centaurs from the second ESO large program F. E. DeMeo1, S. Fornasier1,2, M. A. Barucci1,D.Perna1,3,4, S. Protopapa5, A. Alvarez-Candal1, A. Delsanti1, A. Doressoundiram1, F. Merlin1, and C. de Bergh1 1 LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, 92195 Meudon Principal Cedex, France e-mail: [email protected] 2 Université de Paris 7 Denis Diderot, Paris, France 3 INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, via Frascati 33, 00040 Monte Porzio Catone, Italy 4 Università di Roma Tor Vergata, via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133 Roma, Italy 5 Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Lindau, Germany Received 10 July 2008 / Accepted 9 October 2008 ABSTRACT Aims. We investigate color properties and define or check taxonomic classifications of objects observed in our survey. Methods. All observations were performed between October 2006 and September 2007 at the European Southern Observatory 8 m Very Large Telescope, UT1 and UT2 at the Paranal Observatory in Chile. For visible photometry, we used the FORS1 instrument, and for near-infrared, ISAAC. Taxonomic classifications from the Barucci system were assigned using G-mode analysis. Results. We present photometric observations of 23 TNOs and Centaurs, nine of which have never been previously observed. Eighteen of these objects were assigned taxonomic classifications: six BB, four BR, two RR, and six that are given two or more categories due to insufficient data. Three objects that had been previously observed and classified, changed classes most likely due to surface vari- ation: 26375 (1999 DE9), 28978 (Ixion), and 32532 (Thereus). -
Journal Pre-Proof
Journal Pre-proof A statistical review of light curves and the prevalence of contact binaries in the Kuiper Belt Mark R. Showalter, Susan D. Benecchi, Marc W. Buie, William M. Grundy, James T. Keane, Carey M. Lisse, Cathy B. Olkin, Simon B. Porter, Stuart J. Robbins, Kelsi N. Singer, Anne J. Verbiscer, Harold A. Weaver, Amanda M. Zangari, Douglas P. Hamilton, David E. Kaufmann, Tod R. Lauer, D.S. Mehoke, T.S. Mehoke, J.R. Spencer, H.B. Throop, J.W. Parker, S. Alan Stern, the New Horizons Geology, Geophysics, and Imaging Team PII: S0019-1035(20)30444-9 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2020.114098 Reference: YICAR 114098 To appear in: Icarus Received date: 25 November 2019 Revised date: 30 August 2020 Accepted date: 1 September 2020 Please cite this article as: M.R. Showalter, S.D. Benecchi, M.W. Buie, et al., A statistical review of light curves and the prevalence of contact binaries in the Kuiper Belt, Icarus (2020), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2020.114098 This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. -
Water Ice in 2060 Chiron and Its Implications for Centaurs and Kuiper Belt Objects
Water Ice in 2060 Chiron and its Implications for Centaurs and Kuiper Belt Objects Jane X. Luu Sterrewacht Leiden Postbus 9513, 2300RA Leiden, The Netherlands David C. Jewitt1 Institute for Astronomy 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822 and Chad Trujillo1 Institute for Astronomy 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822 Received ; accepted Submitted to Ap. J. Letters, accepted 31 Jan 2000 1Visiting Astronomer, W. M. Keck Observatory, jointly operated by California Institute of Technology and the University of California. –2– ABSTRACT We report the detection of water ice in the Centaur 2060 Chiron, based on near-infrared spectra (1.0 - 2.5 µm) taken with the 3.8-meter United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) and the 10-meter Keck Telescope. The appearance of this ice is correlated with the recent decline in Chiron’s cometary activity: the decrease in the coma cross-section allows previously hidden solid-state surface features to be seen. We predict that water ice is ubiquitous among Centaurs and Kuiper Belt objects, but its surface coverage varies from object to object, and thus determines its detectability and the occurrence of cometary activity. Subject headings: comets – Kuiper Belt – solar system: formation 1. Introduction The Centaurs are a set of solar system objects whose orbits are confined between those of Jupiter and Neptune. Their planet-crossing orbits imply a short dynamical lifetime (106 107 yr). The current belief is that Centaurs are objects scattered from the Kuiper − Belt that may eventually end up in the inner solar system as short-period comets. The first discovered and brightest known Centaur, 2060 Chiron, is relatively well studied. -
" Tnos Are Cool": a Survey of the Transneptunian Region IV. Size
Astronomy & Astrophysics manuscript no. SDOs˙Herschel˙Santos-Sanz˙2012 c ESO 2012 February 8, 2012 “TNOs are Cool”: A Survey of the Transneptunian Region IV Size/albedo characterization of 15 scattered disk and detached objects observed with Herschel Space Observatory-PACS? P. Santos-Sanz1, E. Lellouch1, S. Fornasier1;2, C. Kiss3, A. Pal3, T.G. Muller¨ 4, E. Vilenius4, J. Stansberry5, M. Mommert6, A. Delsanti1;7, M. Mueller8;9, N. Peixinho10;11, F. Henry1, J.L. Ortiz12, A. Thirouin12, S. Protopapa13, R. Duffard12, N. Szalai3, T. Lim14, C. Ejeta15, P. Hartogh15, A.W. Harris6, and M. Rengel15 1 LESIA-Observatoire de Paris, CNRS, UPMC Univ. Paris 6, Univ. Paris-Diderot, 5 Place J. Janssen, 92195 Meudon Cedex, France. e-mail: [email protected] 2 Univ. Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cite,´ 4 rue Elsa Morante, 75205 Paris, France. 3 Konkoly Observatory of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary. 4 Max–Planck–Institut fur¨ extraterrestrische Physik (MPE), Garching, Germany. 5 University of Arizona, Tucson, USA. 6 Deutsches Zentrum fur¨ Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Institute of Planetary Research, Berlin, Germany. 7 Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille, CNRS & Universite´ de Provence, Marseille. 8 SRON LEA / HIFI ICC, Postbus 800, 9700AV Groningen, Netherlands. 9 UNS-CNRS-Observatoire de la Coteˆ d0Azur, Laboratoire Cassiopee,´ BP 4229, 06304 Nice Cedex 04, France. 10 Center for Geophysics of the University of Coimbra, Av. Dr. Dias da Silva, 3000-134 Coimbra, Portugal 11 Astronomical Observatory, University of Coimbra, Almas de Freire, 3040-004 Coimbra, Portugal 12 Instituto de Astrof´ısica de Andaluc´ıa (CSIC), Granada, Spain. 13 University of Maryland, USA. -
Taxonomy of Trans-Neptunian Objects and Centaurs As Seen from Spectroscopy? F
A&A 604, A86 (2017) Astronomy DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201730933 & c ESO 2017 Astrophysics Taxonomy of trans-Neptunian objects and Centaurs as seen from spectroscopy? F. Merlin1, T. Hromakina2, D. Perna1, M. J. Hong1, and A. Alvarez-Candal3 1 LESIA – Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University, CNRS, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ. Paris 06, Univ. Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, 5 place Jules Janssen, 92195 Meudon, France e-mail: [email protected] 2 Institute of Astronomy, Kharkiv V. N. Karin National University, Sumska Str. 35, 61022 Kharkiv, Ukraine 3 Observatorio Nacional, R. Gal. Jose Cristino 77, 20921-400 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Received 4 April 2017 / Accepted 19 May 2017 ABSTRACT Context. Taxonomy of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) and Centaurs has been made in previous works using broadband filters in the visible and near infrared ranges. This initial investigation led to the establishment of four groups with the aim to provide the mean colors of the different classes with possible links with any physical or chemical properties. However, this taxonomy was only made with the Johnson-Cousins filter system and the ESO J, H, Ks filters combination, and any association with other filter system is not yet available. Aims. We aim to edit complete visible to near infrared taxonomy and extend this work to any possible filters system. To do this, we generate mean spectra for each individual group, from a data set of 43 spectra. This work also presents new spectra of the TNO (38628) Huya, on which aqueous alteration has been suspected, and the Centaur 2007 VH305. -
Colours of Minor Bodies in the Outer Solar System II - a Statistical Analysis, Revisited
Astronomy & Astrophysics manuscript no. MBOSS2 c ESO 2012 April 26, 2012 Colours of Minor Bodies in the Outer Solar System II - A Statistical Analysis, Revisited O. R. Hainaut1, H. Boehnhardt2, and S. Protopapa3 1 European Southern Observatory (ESO), Karl Schwarzschild Straße, 85 748 Garching bei M¨unchen, Germany e-mail: [email protected] 2 Max-Planck-Institut f¨ur Sonnensystemforschung, Max-Planck Straße 2, 37 191 Katlenburg- Lindau, Germany 3 Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20 742-2421, USA Received —; accepted — ABSTRACT We present an update of the visible and near-infrared colour database of Minor Bodies in the outer Solar System (MBOSSes), now including over 2000 measurement epochs of 555 objects, extracted from 100 articles. The list is fairly complete as of December 2011. The database is now large enough that dataset with a high dispersion can be safely identified and rejected from the analysis. The method used is safe for individual outliers. Most of the rejected papers were from the early days of MBOSS photometry. The individual measurements were combined so not to include possible rotational artefacts. The spectral gradient over the visible range is derived from the colours, as well as the R absolute magnitude M(1, 1). The average colours, absolute magnitude, spectral gradient are listed for each object, as well as their physico-dynamical classes using a classification adapted from Gladman et al., 2008. Colour-colour diagrams, histograms and various other plots are presented to illustrate and in- vestigate class characteristics and trends with other parameters, whose significance are evaluated using standard statistical tests. -
Physical Properties of Centaur (54598) Bienor from Photometry 3
MNRAS 000, 1–13 (2015) Preprint 15 May 2018 Compiled using MNRAS LATEX style file v3.0 Physical properties of centaur (54598) Bienor from photometry E. Fern´andez-Valenzuela,1⋆ J. L. Ortiz1, R. Duffard1, N. Morales1, P. Santos-Sanz1 1Instituto de Astrof´ısica de Andaluc´ıa, CSIC, Glorieta de la Astronom´ıa s/n, Granada 18008, Spain Accepted XXX. Received YYY; in original form ZZZ ABSTRACT We present time series photometry of Bienor in four observation campaigns from 2013 to 2016 and compare them with previous observations in the literature dating back to 2000. The results show a remarkable decline in the amplitude of the rotational light curve and in the absolute magnitude. This suggests that the angle between the rotation axis and the line of sight has changed noticeably during the last 16 years as Bienor orbits the Sun. From the light curve amplitude data we are able to determine ◦ ◦ the orientation of the rotation axis of Bienor (βp = 50 ± 3 , λp = 35 ± 8 ). We are also able to constrain the b/a axial ratio of a triaxial Jacobi ellipsoidal body (with semi-axis a>b>c). The best fit is for b/a = 0.45 ± 0.05, which corresponds to a +47 −3 density value of 594−35 kg m under the usual assumption of hydrostatic equilibrium and given that Bienor’s rotational period is 9.17 h. However, the absolute magnitude of Bienor at several epochs is not well reproduced. We tested several explanations such as relaxing the hydrostatic equilibrium constraint, a large North-South asymmetry in the surface albedo of Bienor or even a ring system. -
Polarimetric Properties of Transneptunian Objects and Centaurs
Polarimetry of Centaurs (2060) Chiron, (5145) Pholus and (10199) Chariklo I. N. Belskaya1,2, S. Bagnulo3, M.A. Barucci2, K. Muinonen4,5, G.P. Tozzi6, S. Fornasier2,7, L. Kolokolova8 1Institute of Astronomy, Kharkiv National University, 35 Sumska str., 61022 Kharkiv, Ukraine, [email protected] 2LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, 5, pl.Jules Janssen, 92195 Meudon cedex, France 3Armagh Observatory, College Hill, Armagh BT61 9DG, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom 4 Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 64, Gustaf Hällströmin katu 2a, FI-00014, Finland 5Finnish Geodetic Institute, P.O. Box 15, Geodeetinrinne 2, FI-02431 Masala, Finland 6INAF - Oss. Astrofisico di Arcetri, Largo E. Fermi 5, I-50125 Firenze, Italy 7University of Denis Diderot -Paris VII, France 8University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA Published in Icarus 210, p.472-479, 2010 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0019103510002277 * Based on observations made with ESO Very Large Telescope at the La Silla-Paranal Observatory under programme ID 178.C-0036 (PI: A. Barucci) Pages: 18 Tables: 3 Figures: 8 Abstract Results of the first polarimetric observations of Centaurs (5145) Pholus and (10199) Chariklo, and new observations of (2060) Chiron are presented together with the estimates of their absolute magnitudes. Observations were carried out at the 8 m ESO Very Large Telescope in 2007-2008. They revealed noticeable negative polarization in the phase angle range 0.5-4.4 deg with a minimum varying from -1% to -2.1% in the R band. All three objects show diverse polarization phase angle behaviour, each distinctly different from that of transneptunian objects. -
Appendix 1 1311 Discoverers in Alphabetical Order
Appendix 1 1311 Discoverers in Alphabetical Order Abe, H. 28 (8) 1993-1999 Bernstein, G. 1 1998 Abe, M. 1 (1) 1994 Bettelheim, E. 1 (1) 2000 Abraham, M. 3 (3) 1999 Bickel, W. 443 1995-2010 Aikman, G. C. L. 4 1994-1998 Biggs, J. 1 2001 Akiyama, M. 16 (10) 1989-1999 Bigourdan, G. 1 1894 Albitskij, V. A. 10 1923-1925 Billings, G. W. 6 1999 Aldering, G. 4 1982 Binzel, R. P. 3 1987-1990 Alikoski, H. 13 1938-1953 Birkle, K. 8 (8) 1989-1993 Allen, E. J. 1 2004 Birtwhistle, P. 56 2003-2009 Allen, L. 2 2004 Blasco, M. 5 (1) 1996-2000 Alu, J. 24 (13) 1987-1993 Block, A. 1 2000 Amburgey, L. L. 2 1997-2000 Boattini, A. 237 (224) 1977-2006 Andrews, A. D. 1 1965 Boehnhardt, H. 1 (1) 1993 Antal, M. 17 1971-1988 Boeker, A. 1 (1) 2002 Antolini, P. 4 (3) 1994-1996 Boeuf, M. 12 1998-2000 Antonini, P. 35 1997-1999 Boffin, H. M. J. 10 (2) 1999-2001 Aoki, M. 2 1996-1997 Bohrmann, A. 9 1936-1938 Apitzsch, R. 43 2004-2009 Boles, T. 1 2002 Arai, M. 45 (45) 1988-1991 Bonomi, R. 1 (1) 1995 Araki, H. 2 (2) 1994 Borgman, D. 1 (1) 2004 Arend, S. 51 1929-1961 B¨orngen, F. 535 (231) 1961-1995 Armstrong, C. 1 (1) 1997 Borrelly, A. 19 1866-1894 Armstrong, M. 2 (1) 1997-1998 Bourban, G. 1 (1) 2005 Asami, A. 7 1997-1999 Bourgeois, P. 1 1929 Asher, D.