Bibcode
Costa, E.; Hasselmann, P. H.; Alí-Lagoa, V.; Carraro, G.; Lazzaro, D.; Carvano, J.; Licandro, J.; Lorenzi, V.; Melita, M. D.; Alvarez-Candal, A.; Pinilla-Alonso, N.
Bibliographical reference
Astronomy and Astrophysics, Volume 550, id.A13, 9 pp.
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2
2013
Journal
Citations
12
Refereed citations
11
Description
Most of the objects in the trans-Neptunian belt (TNb) and related
populations move in prograde orbits with low eccentricity and
inclination. However, the list of icy minor bodies moving in orbits with
an inclination above 40° has increased in recent years. The origin
of these bodies, and in particular of those objects in retrograde
orbits, is not well determined, and different scenarios are considered,
depending on their inclination and perihelion. In this paper, we present
new observational and dynamical data of two objects in retrograde
orbits, 2008 YB3 and 2005 VD. We find that the surface of
these extreme objects is depleted of ices and does not contain the
"ultra-red" matter typical of some Centaurs. Despite small differences,
these objects share common colors and spectral characteristics with the
Trojans, comet nuclei, and the group of grey Centaurs. All of these
populations are supposed to be covered by a mantle of dust responsible
for their reddish-to-neutral color. To investigate if the surface
properties and dynamical evolution of these bodies are related, we
integrate their orbits for 108 years to the past. We find a
remarkable difference in their dynamical evolutions: 2005 VD's evolution
is dominated by a Kozai resonance with planet Jupiter while that of 2008
YB3 is dominated by close encounters with planets Jupiter and
Saturn. Our models suggest that the immediate site of provenance of 2005
VD is the in the Oort Cloud, whereas for 2008 YB3 it is in
the trans-Neptunian region. Additionally, the study of their residence
time shows that 2005 VD has spent a larger lapse of time moving in
orbits in the region of the giant planets than 2008 YB3.
Together with the small differences in color between these two objects,
with 2005 VD being more neutral than 2008 YB3, this fact
suggests that the surface of 2005 VD has suffered a higher degree of
processing, which is probably related to cometary activity episodes.
Partially based on observations made with ESO telescopes at the La Silla
Paranal Observatory under program ID 286.C-5019(A) and with SOAR
telescope. The SOAR telescope is a joint project of Conselho Nacional de
Pesquisas Cientificas e Tecnologicas CNPq-Brazil, The University of
North Caroline at Chapel Hill Michigan State University, and the
National Optical Astronomy Observatory.
Related projects
Minor Bodies of the Solar System
This project studies the physical and compositional properties of the so-called minor bodies of the Solar System, that includes asteroids, icy objects, and comets. Of special interest are the trans-neptunian objects (TNOs), including those considered the most distant objects detected so far (Extreme-TNOs or ETNOs); the comets and the comet-asteroid
Julia de
León Cruz