Related papers: Taurid Complex Smoking Gun: Detection of Cometary …

Recent observations (Burnes et al 2002,Veillet et al 2002, Margot et al 2002a) have revealed an unexpectedly high binary fraction among the Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs) that populate the Kuiper Belt. The TNO binaries are strikingly…

The Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Legacy Survey, specifically the Very Wide segment of data, is used to search for possible main-belt comets. In the first data set, 952 separate objects with asteroidal orbits within the main-belt are…

We obtained spectra of six of the largest asteroids (2201, 4183, 4486, 5143, 6063, and 269690) associated with Taurid complex. The observations were made with the IRTF telescope equipped with the spectro-imager SpeX. Their taxonomic…

C-complex asteroids, rich in carbonaceous materials, are potential sources of Earth's volatile inventories. They are spectrally dark resembling primitive carbonaceous meteorites, and thus, C-complex asteroids are thought to be potential…

In this paper we apply different methods to examine the possibility that a small group of 24 asteroids dynamically linked to main-belt comet P/2006 VW139, recently discovered by the Pan-STARRS1 survey telescope, shares a common physical…

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…

Periodic comets of different dynamical groups with orbits at 2 - 5 AU still occasionally active. The observed dust activity of such objects can be connected with processes of water ice sublimation (MBCs) or crystallization of amorphous…

Centaurs are small bodies orbiting in the giant planet region which were scattered inwards from their source populations beyond Neptune. Some members of the population display comet-like activity during their transition through the solar…

Using the Secular Light Curve (SLC) formalism (Ferr\'in, 2010a, PSS, 58, 365-391), we searched for cometary activity of six NEAS: 2201 Oljato. The SLC exhibits significant cometary activity and evidence of an eclipse. 3200 Phaethon. Is the…

Most meteorites are fragments from recent collisions experienced in the asteroid belt. In such a hyper-velocity collision, the smaller collision partner is destroyed, whereas a crater on the asteroid is formed or it is entirely disrupted,…

The near-Earth objects with low-Jovian Tisserand invariant ($T_J$) represent about 9 per cent of the known objects orbiting in the near-Earth space, being subject of numerous planetary encounters and large temperature variations. We aim to…

The near-Earth asteroid population suggests the existence of an inner Main Belt source of asteroids that belongs to the spectroscopic X-complex and has moderate albedos. The identification of such a source has been lacking so far. We argue…

Fragments of small solar system bodies entering Earth's atmosphere have possibly been important contributors of organic compounds to the early Earth. The cyano radical (CN) emission from meteors is considered as potentially one of the most…

Asteroid pairs are genetically related asteroids that recently separated ($<$few million years), but still reside on similar heliocentric orbits. A few hundred of these systems have been identified, primarily in the asteroid main-belt. Here…

Numerical simulations suggest that Neptune primordial co-orbitals may outnumber the equivalent population hosted by Jupiter, yet the objects remain elusive. Since the first discovery in 2001 just 10 minor planets have been identified as…

Observations indicate that present-day star formation in the Milky Way disk takes place in stellar ensembles or clusters rather than in isolation. Bound, long lived stellar groups are known as open clusters. They gradually lose stars and in…

Recent observations have revealed an unexpectedly high binary fraction among the Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs) that populate the Kuiper-belt. The discovered binaries have four characteristics they comprise a few percent of the TNOs, the…

The recent years have witnessed a carnival of discoveries in the Outer Solar System. Here we provide evidence from numerical simulations of orbital stability to suggest the possible existence of two long lived belts of primordial…

Temporarily Captured Orbiters (TCOs) are Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) which make a few orbits of Earth before returning to heliocentric orbits. Only one TCO has been observed to date, 2006 RH120, captured by Earth for one year before escaping.…

Some asteroids eject dust, producing transient, comet-like comae and tails; these are the active asteroids. The causes of activity in this newly-identified population are many and varied. They include impact ejection and disruption,…