Related papers: Trans-Neptunian Space and the Post-Pluto Paradigm

The vast diversity of planetary systems detected to date is defying our capability of understanding their formation and evolution. Well-defined volume-limited surveys are the best tool at our disposal to tackle the problem, via the…

The Galaxy's most common known planetary systems have several Earth-to-Neptune-size planets in compact orbits. At small orbital separations, larger planets are less common than their smaller counterparts by an order of magnitude. The young…

The formation and evolution of tidal tails like those observed around some globular clusters and dwarf satellite galaxies is examined with an N-body simulation. In particular, we analyse in detail the evolving tidal features of a…

Compared to the giant planets in the solar system, exoplanets have many remarkable properties such as the prevalence of giant planets on eccentric orbits and the presence of hot Jupiters. Planet-planet scattering (PPS) between giant planets…

Much remains to be understood about the nature of exoplanets smaller than Neptune, most of which have been discovered in compact multi-planet systems. With its inner ultra-short period planet b aligned with the star and two larger outer…

Kuiper Belt Objects, or more generally Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs), are planetesimals found beyond the orbit of Neptune. Some TNOs evolve onto Neptune-crossing orbits and become Centaurs. Many Centaurs, in turn, reach Jupiter-crossing…

It has been observed that several Milky Way (MW) satellite dwarf galaxies are distributed along a coherent planar distribution known as the Vast Polar Structure (VPOS). Here we investigate whether MW satellites located on the VPOS have…

Pluto's first known moon, Charon, was discovered in 1978 (Christy 1978) and has a diameter about half that of Pluto (Buie 1992,Young 1994, Sicardy 2005), which makes it larger relative to its primary than any other moon in the Solar System.…

A unique feature of Pluto's large satellite Charon is its dark red northern polar cap. Similar colours on Pluto's surface have been attributed to organic macromolecules produced by energetic radiation processing of hydrocarbons. The polar…

Discovery of transneptunian object (TNO) satellites and determination of their orbits has recently enabled estimation of the size and albedo of several small TNOs, extending the size range of objects having known size and albedo down into…

The orbital element distribution of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) with large pericenters has been suggested to be influenced by the presence of an undetected, large planet at >200 AU from the Sun. To find additional observables caused by…

M dwarf stars are the most promising hosts for detection and characterization of small and potentially habitable planets, and provide leverage relative to solar-type stars to test models of planet formation and evolution. Using \emph{Gaia}…

In its long-duration observation phase, the PLATO satellite will observe two non-overlapping fields for a total of 4 yr. The exact duration of each pointing will be determined 2 yr before launch. Previous estimates of PLATO's yield of…

Despite the recent discoveries of planets orbiting stars at all evolutionary stages, the evolution of planetary systems remains poorly understood. Studying planetary systems around red giant branch stars can reveal how main sequence…

Understanding the concept of habitability is related to an evolutionary knowledge of the particular planet-in-question. Additional indications so-called "systemic aspects" of the planetary system as a whole governs a particular planet's…

Plutinos are Kuiper-belt objects that share the 3:2 Neptune resonance with Pluto. The long-term stability of Plutino orbits depends on their eccentricity. Plutinos with eccentricities close to Pluto (fractional eccentricity difference…

Among the current population of the 81 known trans-Neptunian binaries (TNBs), only two are in orbits that cross the orbit of Neptune. These are (42355) Typhon-Echidna and (65489) Ceto-Phorcys. In the present work, we focused our analyses on…

Although there is abundant and diverse observational evidence in support of white dwarf stars hosting planets or debris disks which form in the catastrophic destruction of various planetary bodies, the key processes that explain these…

This white paper advocates for the inclusion of small, captured Outer Solar system objects, found in the Ice Giant region in the next Decadal Survey. These objects include the Trojans and Irregular satellite populations of Uranus and…

Planetary systems that orbit white dwarf stars can be studied via spectroscopic observations of the stars themselves. Numerous white dwarfs are seen to have accreted mostly rocky minor planets, the remnants of which are present in the…