Related papers: Mass of the Kuiper Belt
Recent observations (Burnes2002,Veillet2002,Margot2002a) have revealed an unexpectedly high binary fraction among the Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs) that populate the Kuiper Belt. The TNO binaries are strikingly different from asteroid…
The size distribution and total mass of objects in the Oort Cloud have important implications to the theory of planets formation, including the properties of, and the processes taking place in the early solar system. We discuss the…
In this work we study the gravitational influence of the material extending from Uranus orbit to the Kuiper belt and beyond on objects moving within these regions. We conclude that a density distribution given by $\rho(r)=\frac{1}{r}$ (for…
As part of our ongoing Deep Ecliptic Survey (DES) of the Kuiper belt, we report on the occupation of the 1:1 (Trojan), 4:3, 3:2, 7:4, 2:1, and 5:2 Neptunian mean-motion resonances (MMRs). The occupation of the 1:1 and 5:2 MMRs is not easily…
The Cold Classical Kuiper Belt, a class of small bodies in undisturbed orbits beyond Neptune, are primitive objects preserving information about Solar System formation. The New Horizons spacecraft flew past one of these objects, the 36 km…
Context. A recent observational census of Kuiper belt objects (KBOs) has unveiled anomalous orbital structures. This has led to the hypothesis that an additional $\sim5-10~m_{\oplus}$ planet exists. This planet, known as Planet 9, occupies…
The orbital distribution of transneptunian objects (TNOs) in the distant Kuiper Belt (with semimajor axes beyond the 2:1 resonance, roughly $a$=50-100 au) provides constraints on the dynamical history of the outer solar system. Recent…
We explore conventional Neptune migration model with one additional planet of mass at 0.1-2.0 Me. This planet inhabited in the 3:2 mean motion resonance with Neptune during planet migration epoch, and then escaped from the Kuiper belt when…
We analytically work out the long-term variations caused on the motion of a planet orbiting a star by a very distant, pointlike massive object X. Apart from the semi-major axis a, all the other Keplerian osculating orbital elements…
The dynamical structure of the Kuiper belt can be used as a clue to the formation and evolution of the Solar System, planetary systems in general, and Neptune's early orbital history in particular. The problem is best addressed by forward…
We examine the dynamics of small bodies in orbits similar to that of comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1, i.e. near-circular orbits between Jupiter and Saturn. As of late 2019, there are 14 other known bodies in this region that lie in similar…
[Condensed] We search 0.02 deg^2 for trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) with m<=29.2 (diameter ~15 km) using the ACS on HST. Three new objects are discovered, roughly 25 times fewer than expected from extrapolation of the differential sky…
Recent stellar occultations have allowed accurate instantaneous size and apparent shape determinations of the large Kuiper belt object (50000)~Quaoar and the detection of two rings with spatially variable optical depths. In this paper we…
The hypothesis of an additional planet in the outer Solar System has gained new support as a result of the confinement noted in the angular orbital elements of distant trans-Neptunian objects. Orbital parameters proposed for the external…
It appears that at least several percent of large Kuiper belt objects are members of wide binaries. Physical collisions are too infrequent to account for their formation. Collisionless gravitational interactions are more promising. These…
The size distribution is determined directly from the current known Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs). We found that there is a peak for the size distribution around 230 km in diameter. For the objects larger than 230 km, the KBOs populate as…
We measured the system-integrated thermal emission of the binary Kuiper Belt Object 1999 TC36 at wavelengths near 24 and 70 microns using the Spitzer space telescope. We fit these data and the visual magnitude using both the Standard…
We present a systematic investigation of the rotational lightcurves of trans-Neptunian objects based on extensive optical data from Mauna Kea. Four of 13 objects (corresponding to 31%) in our sample ((33128) 1998 BU48, 2000 GN171, (20000)…
One of the most fundamental problems in the study of Kuiper belt objects (KBOs) is to know their true physical size. Without knowledge of their albedos we are not able to distinguish large and dark from small and bright KBOs. Spitzer…
We numerically integrated the orbits of 1458 particles in the region of the classical Kuiper Belt (41 AU < a < 47 AU) to explore the role of dynamical instabilities in sculpting the inclination distribution of the classical Kuiper Belt…