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The exoplanetary system of HR 8799 is one of the rare systems in which multiple planets have been directly imaged. Its architecture is strikingly similar to that of the Solar System, with the four imaged giant planets surrounding a warm…
We present observations of two binary systems within the cold classical region of the Kuiper belt$-$2001 XR254 and 2016 BP81$-$obtained with the JWST Near-Infrared Spectrograph. The measured reflectance spectrum of 2001 XR254 is…
The non-resonant Kuiper belt objects (KBOs) between the 3:2 and 2:1 Neptunian mean motion resonances can be largely divided between a cold classical belt (CCB) and a hot classical belt (HCB). A notable difference between these two…
Cold debris disks (T$<$200 K) are analogues to the dust in the Solar System's Kuiper belt--dust generated from the evaporation and collision of minor bodies perturbed by planets, our Sun, and the local interstellar medium. Scattered light…
The cold classical Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) possess a high, $\gtrsim30\%$ binary fraction. Widely separated and dynamically fragile, these binary systems have been useful in tracing the origins of KBOs. A new class of binaries was…
We used N-body simulations to model the 4.5 Gyr orbital evolution of the early Kuiper Belt, incorporating a massive protoplanetary disk, the four giant planets, and 1500 primordial Pluto-class bodies ("Plutos") that drove Neptune's grainy…
Preliminary spacecraft trajectories for 45 Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) and Pluto suitable for launch between 2025 and 2040 are presented. These 46 objects comprise all objects with H magnitude < 4.0 or which have received a name from the…
We study the effects of an encounter between a wandering cosmic object (WCO) of 0.1 solar mass and some Kuiperian Objects (KO). First, we let the WCO cross the out-skirt of ou Kuiper belt. Such encounters can produce two types of solar…
We compute the temperature and IR signal of particles of radius $a$ and albedo $\alpha$ at heliocentric distance $R$, taking into account the emissivity effect, and give an interpolating formula for the result. We compare with analyses of…
We report the discovery of two adjacent jet candidates with a length of about 9 degrees each -- 10 times longer than the largest known jets -- detected by us on 60 and 100 micron IRAS maps, but not observed at any other wavelength. They are…
Most comets are volatile-rich bodies that have recently entered the inner solar system following long-term storage in the Kuiper belt and the Oort cloud reservoirs. These reservoirs feed several distinct, short-lived "small body"…
We report the observation and physical characterization of the possible dwarf planet \UZ\ ("DeeDee"), a dynamically detached trans-Neptunian object discovered at 92 AU. This object is currently the second-most distant known trans-Neptunian…
The dust measured in debris disks traces the position of planetesimal belts. In our Solar System, we are also able to measure the largest planetesimals directly and can extrapolate down to make an estimate of the dust. The zodiacal dust…
Models of the Solar System's dynamical evolution predict the dispersal of primitive planetesimals from their formative regions amongst the gas-giant planets due to the early phases of planetary migration. Consequently, carbonaceous objects…
We present results from our observing campaign of Comet 209P/LINEAR during its exceptionally close approach to Earth during May of 2014, the third smallest perigee of any comet in two centuries. These circumstances permitted us to pursue…
We analyze albedo data obtained using the Herschel Space Observatory that reveal the existence of two distinct types of surface among midsized transneptunian objects. A color-albedo diagram shows two large clusters of objects, one redder…
We numerically investigate the possibility that a close stellar encounter could account for the high inclinations of the Kuiper belt, as originally proposed by Ida, Larwood and Burkert, however we consider encounters with pericenters within…
HR~8799 is a young F0-type star with four directly imaged giant planets and two debris belts, one located exterior and another one interior to the region occupied by the planetary orbits. Having an architecture similar to that of our Solar…
Debris disks are thought to be sculptured by neighboring planets. The same is true for the Edgeworth-Kuiper debris disk, yet no direct observational evidence for signatures of giant planets in the Kuiper belt dust distribution has been…
Motivated by a desire to understand the size distributon of the Kuiper Belt, an observing program was conducted at the Mount Palomar 5-m telescope from 1994-1996. The observations consisted of follow-up observations of known objects (in…