Related papers: Kuiperian Objects and Wandering Cosmic Objects

The most distant Kuiper belt objects appear to be clustered in longitude of perihelion and in orbital pole position. To date, the only two suggestions for the cause of these apparent clusterings have been either the effects of observational…

The densities of mid-sized Kuiper belt objects are a key constraint into understanding the assembly of objects in the outer solar system. These objects are critical for understanding the currently unexplained transition from the smallest…

(Abridged) The Edgeworth-Kuiper belt with its presumed dusty debris is a natural reference for extrsolar debris disks. We employ a new algorithm to eliminate the inclination and the distance selection effects in the known TNO populations to…

We examine the orbital element distribution of main-belt comets (MBCs), which are objects that exhibit cometary activity yet orbit in the main asteroid belt, and may be potentially useful as tracers of ice in the inner solar system. We find…

Less than one percent of the discovered small solar system objects have highly inclined orbits ($i>60^{\circ}$), and revolve around the Sun on near-polar or retrograde orbits. The origin and evolutionary history of these objects are not yet…

Existing and planned optical telescopes and surveys can detect artificially-illuminated objects comparable in total brightness to a major terrestrial city out to the outskirts of the Solar System. Orbital parameters of Kuiper belt objects…

We present new optical broadband colors, obtained with the Keck 1 and Vatican Advanced Technology telescopes, for six objects in the inner classical Kuiper Belt. Objects in the inner classical Kuiper Belt are of interest as they may…

The main objective of this paper is to fully study 1:1 mean-motion resonance in the Solar System. We calculated stability points applying a resonant semi-analytic theory valid for any value of eccentricity or inclination. The location of…

We report the orbital distribution of the trans-neptunian objects (TNOs) discovered during the Canada-France Ecliptic Plane Survey, whose discovery phase ran from early 2003 until early 2007. The follow-up observations started just after…

In this paper we study the role of dynamical friction on the evolution of a population of large objects ($m>10^{22}$ g) at heliocentric distances $>70$ AU in the Kuiper Belt. We show that the already flat distribution of these objects must…

We conducted a two-night photometric survey of small Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) near opposition using the wide-field Hyper Suprime-Cam instrument on the 8.2 m Subaru Telescope. The survey covered about 90 deg^2 of sky, with each field…

Over the course of the past two decades, observational surveys have unveiled the intricate orbital structure of the Kuiper Belt, a field of icy bodies orbiting the Sun beyond Neptune. In addition to a host of readily-predictable orbital…

1I/'Oumuamua (or 1I) and 2I/Borisov (or 2I), the first InterStellar Objects (ISOs) discovered passing through the solar system, have opened up entirely new areas of exobody research. Finding additional ISOs and planning missions to…

Measuring the size distribution of small (km-scale) KBOs can help constrain models of Solar System formation and planetary migration. Such small, distant bodies are hard to detect with current or planned telescopes, but can be identified as…

This work explores the orbital distribution of minor bodies in the outer Solar System emplaced as a result of a Nice model migration from the simulations of Brasser & Morbidelli (2013). This planetary migration scatters a planetesimal disk…

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft observed (15810) 1994 JR$_1$, a 3:2 resonant Kupier Belt Object (KBO), using the LOng Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) on November 2, 2015 from a distance of 1.85 AU, and again on April 7, 2016 from a…

We show, by comparing observations with theoretical models, that the observed Kuiper Belt size distribution is well matched by coagulation models, which start from an initial planetesimal population with radii of about 1km, and subsequent…

One of the most striking and curious features of the small Kuiper Belt Object (KB), Arrokoth, explored by New Horizons, is the bright, annular neck it exhibits at the junction between its two lobes. Here we summarize past reported findings…

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…

To date, rings are found around a Centaur (10199) Chariklo, trans-neptunian objects (TNOs) (136108) Haumea, and (50000) Quaoar. These discoveries suggest that asteroidal ring systems may be common, particularly in the outer solar system.…