Trans-Neptunian object

Types of distant minor planets

Cis-Neptunian objects Centaurs Neptune trojans Trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs)‡ Kuiper belt objects (KBOs) Classical KBOs (Cubewanos) Resonant KBOs Plutinos (2:3 Resonance) Scattered disc objects (SDOs) Resonant SDOs Detached objects Oort cloud objects (OCOs)

‡ Trans-Neptunian dwarf planets are called "plutoids"

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A trans-Neptunian object (TNO; also written transneptunian object) is any object in the Solar System that orbits the Sun at a greater average distance (semi-major axis) than Neptune.

The first trans-Neptunian object to be discovered was Pluto in 1930. It took until 1992 to discover a second trans-Neptunian object orbiting the Sun directly, (15760) 1992 QB₁, with only the discovery of Pluto's moon Charon in 1978 before that. Now over 1,200 trans-Neptunian objects appear on the Minor Planet Center's List Of Transneptunian Objects.^[2] As of November 2009, two hundred of these have their orbits well-enough determined that they have been given a permanent minor planet designation.^[3][4]

The largest known trans-Neptunian objects are Eris and Pluto, followed by Makemake and Haumea. The Kuiper belt, scattered disk, and Oort cloud are three conventional divisions of this volume of space,^[5] though treatments vary and a few objects such as Sedna do not fit easily into any division.^{[nb 1]}

History

Discovery of Pluto

The orbit of each of the planets is slightly affected by the gravitational influences of the other planets. Discrepancies in the early 1900s between the observed and expected orbits of Uranus and Neptune suggested that there were one or more additional planets beyond Neptune. The search for these led to the discovery of Pluto in 1930. However, Pluto was too small to explain the discrepancies, and revised estimates of Neptune's mass showed that the problem was spurious.

Pluto was easiest to find because it has the highest apparent magnitude of all known trans-Neptunian objects. It also has a lower inclination to the ecliptic than most other large TNOs.

Discovery of other trans-Neptunian objects

After Pluto's discovery, American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh continued searching for some years for similar objects, but found none. For a long time, no one searched for other TNOs as it was generally believed that Pluto was the only major object beyond Neptune. Only after the discovery of a second TNO, (15760) 1992 QB₁, in 1992, systematic searches for further such objects began. A broad strip of the sky around the ecliptic was photographed and digitally evaluated for slowly moving objects. Hundreds of TNOs were found, with diameters in the range of 50 to 2500 kilometers.

Eris, at the time thought to be the largest TNO, was discovered in 2005, revisiting a long-running dispute within the scientific community over the classification of large TNOs, and whether objects like Pluto can be considered planets. Pluto and Eris were eventually classified as dwarf planets by the International Astronomical Union.

Distribution and classification

According to their distance from the Sun and their orbit parameters, TNOs are classified in two large groups:

• The (classical) Kuiper belt^{[nb 1]} contains objects with an average distance to the Sun of 30 to about 55 AU, usually having close-to-circular orbits with a small inclination from the ecliptic. Kuiper belt objects are further classified into the following two groups:
  • Resonant objects are locked in an orbital resonance with Neptune. Objects with a 1:2 resonance are called twotinos, and objects with a 2:3 resonance are called plutinos, after their most prominent member, Pluto.
  • Classical Kuiper belt objects (also called cubewanos) have no such resonance, moving on almost circular orbits, unperturbed by Neptune. Examples are 1992 QB₁, 50000 Quaoar and Makemake.

• The scattered disk contains objects farther from the Sun, usually with very irregular orbits (i.e. very elliptical and having a strong inclination from the ecliptic). A typical example is the most massive known TNO, Eris.

The diagram to the right illustrates the distribution of known trans-Neptunian objects (up to 70 AU) in relation to the orbits of the planets and the centaurs for reference. Different classes are represented in different colours. Resonant objects (including Neptune trojans) are plotted in red, cubewanos in blue. The scattered disk extends to the right, far beyond the diagram, with known objects at mean distances beyond 500 AU (Sedna) and aphelia beyond 1000 AU ((87269) 2000 OO₆₇).

Notable trans-Neptunian objects

• Pluto, a dwarf planet.
  • Charon, the largest of Pluto's moons.
• (15760) 1992 QB₁, the prototype cubewano, the first Kuiper belt object discovered after Pluto and Charon.
• 1998 WW₃₁, the first binary Kuiper belt object discovered after Pluto and Charon.
• (15874) 1996 TL₆₆, the first object to be identified as a scattered disc object.
• (48639) 1995 TL₈ has a very large satellite and is the earliest discovered scattered disc object.
• 1993 RO, the next plutino discovered after Pluto.
• 20000 Varuna and 50000 Quaoar, large cubewanos.
• 90482 Orcus and 28978 Ixion, large plutinos.
• 90377 Sedna, a distant object, proposed for a new category named Extended scattered disc (E-SDO),^[6] detached objects,^[7] Distant Detached Objects (DDO)^[8] or Scattered-Extended in the formal classification by DES.^[9]
• Haumea,^[10] a dwarf planet, the fourth largest known trans-Neptunian object. Notable for its two known satellites and unusually short rotation period (3.9 h).^[11]
• Eris, a dwarf planet, a scattered disc object, and currently the most massive known trans-Neptunian object. It has one known satellite, Dysnomia.
• Makemake,^[12] a dwarf planet, a cubewano, and the third largest known trans-Neptunian object.
• 2004 XR₁₉₀, a scattered disc object following a highly inclined but nearly circular orbit.
• (87269) 2000 OO₆₇ and (148209) 2000 CR₁₀₅, remarkable for their eccentric orbits and large aphelia.
• 2008 KV₄₂, the first retrograde TNO, having an orbital inclination of i = 104°.

A fuller list of objects is being compiled in the List of trans-Neptunian objects.

Putative trans-Neptunian objects of planetary size

The existence of trans-Neptunian rock–ice bodies of planetary size, ranging from less than an Earth mass up to a brown dwarf has been often postulated^[13][14] for different theoretical reasons to explain several observed or speculated features of the Kuiper belt and the Oort cloud. It was recently proposed to use ranging data from the New Horizons spacecraft to constrain the position of such a hypothesized body.^[15]

Physical characteristics

Given the apparent magnitude (>20) of all but the biggest trans-Neptunian objects, the physical studies are limited to the following:

• thermal emissions for the largest objects (see size determination)
• colour indices, i.e. comparisons of the apparent magnitudes using different filters
• analysis of spectra, visual and infrared

Studying colours and spectra provides insight into the objects' origin and a potential correlation with other classes of objects, namely centaurs and some satellites of giant planets (Triton, Phoebe), suspected to originate in the Kuiper belt. However, the interpretations are typically ambiguous as the spectra can fit more than one model of the surface composition and depend on the unknown particle size. More significantly, the optical surfaces of small bodies are subject to modification by intense radiation, solar wind and micrometeorites. Consequently, the thin optical surface layer could be quite different from the regolith underneath, and not representative of the bulk composition of the body.

Small TNOs are thought to be low-density mixtures of rock and ice with some organic (carbon-containing) surface material such as tholin, detected in their spectra. On the other hand, the high density of Haumea, 2.6-3.3 g/cm³, suggests a very high non-ice content (compare with Pluto's density: 2.0 g/cm³).

The composition of some small TNOs could be similar to that of comets. Indeed, some centaurs undergo seasonal changes when they approach the Sun, making the boundary blurred (see 2060 Chiron and 133P/Elst–Pizarro). However, population comparisons between centaurs and TNOs are still controversial.^[16]

Colours

Like centaurs, TNOs display a wide range of colours from blue-grey to very red, but unlike the centaurs, clearly re-grouped into two classes, the distribution appears to be uniform.^[16]

Colour indices are simple measures of the differences in the apparent magnitude of an object seen through blue (B), visible (V), i.e. green-yellow, and red (R) filters. The diagram illustrates known colour indices for all but the biggest objects (in slightly enhanced colour).^[17] For reference, two moons: Triton and Phoebe, the centaur Pholus and the planet Mars are plotted (yellow labels, size not to scale).

Correlations between the colors and the orbital characteristics have been studied, to confirm theories of different origin of the different dynamic classes.

Classical objects

Classical objects seem to be composed of two different colour populations: the so-called cold (inclination <5°) population, displaying only red colours, and the so-called hot (higher inclination) population displaying the whole range of colours from blue to very red.^[18]

A recent analysis based on the data from Deep Ecliptic Survey confirms this difference in colour between low-inclination (named Core) and high-inclination (named Halo) objects. Red colours of the Core objects together with their unperturbed orbits suggest that these objects could be a relic of the original population of the belt.^[19]

Scattered disk objects

Scattered disk objects show colour resemblances with hot classical objects pointing to a common origin.

The largest objects

Characteristically, big (bright) objects are typically on inclined orbits, while the invariable plane re-groups mostly small and dim objects. While the relatively dimmer bodies, as well as the population as the whole, are reddish (V-I = 0.3–0.6), the bigger objects are often more neutral in colour (infrared index V-I < 0.2). This distinction leads to suggestion that the surface of the largest bodies is covered with ices, hiding the redder, darker areas underneath.^[11]

The diagram illustrates the relative sizes, albedos and colours of the biggest TNOs. Also shown, are the known satellites and the exceptional shape of Haumea resulting from its rapid rotation. The arc around Makemake represents uncertainty given its unknown albedo. The size of Eris follows Michael Brown’s measure (2400 km) based on HST point spread model.^[20] The arc around it represents the thermal measure (3000 km) by Bertoldi (see the related section of the article for the references).

Spectra

The objects present wide range of spectra, differing in reflectivity in visible red and near infrared. Neutral objects present a flat spectrum, reflecting as much red and infrared as visible spectrum.^[21] Very red objects present a steep slope, reflecting much more in red and infrared. A recent attempt at classification (common with centaurs) uses the total of four classes from BB (blue, average B-V=0.70, V-R=0.39 e.g. Orcus) to RR (very red, B-V=1.08, V-R=0.71, e.g. Sedna) with BR and IR as intermediate classes. BR and IR differ mostly in the infrared bands I, J and H.

Typical models of the surface include water ice, amorphous carbon, silicates and organic macromolecules, named tholins, created by intense radiation. Four major tholins are used to fit the reddening slope:

• Titan tholin, believed to be produced from a mixture of 90% N₂ and 10% CH₄ (gaseous methane)
• Triton tholin, as above but with very low (0.1%) methane content
• (ethane) Ice tholin I, believed to be produced from a mixture of 86% H₂O and 14% C₂H₆ (ethane)
• (methanol) Ice tholin II, 80% H₂O, 16% CH₃OH (methanol) and 3% CO₂

As an illustration of the two extreme classes BB and RR, the following compositions have been suggested

• for Sedna (RR very red): 24% Triton tholin, 7% carbon, 10% N₂, 26% methanol, and 33% methane
• for Orcus (BB, grey/blue): 85% amorphous carbon, +4% titan tholin, and 11% H₂O ice

Size determination

It is difficult to estimate the diameter of TNOs. For very large objects, with very well known orbital elements (namely, Pluto and Charon), diameters can be precisely measured by occultation of stars.

For other large TNOs, diameters can be estimated by thermal measurements. The intensity of light illuminating the object is known (from its distance to the Sun), and one assumes that most of its surface is in thermal equilibrium (usually not a bad assumption for an airless body). For a known albedo, it is possible to estimate the surface temperature, and correspondingly the intensity of heat radiation. Further, if the size of the object is known, it is possible to predict both the amount of visible light and emitted heat radiation reaching the Earth. A simplifying factor is that the Sun emits almost all of its energy in visible light and at nearby frequencies, while at the cold temperatures of TNOs, the heat radiation is emitted at completely different wavelengths (the far infrared).

Thus there are two unknowns (albedo and size), which can be determined by two independent measurements (of the amount of reflected light and emitted infrared heat radiation).

Unfortunately, TNOs are so far from the Sun that they are very cold, hence produce black-body radiation around 60 micrometres in wavelength. This wavelength of light is impossible to observe on the Earth's surface, but only from space using, e.g., the Spitzer Space Telescope. For ground-based observations, astronomers observe the tail of the black-body radiation in the far infrared. This far infrared radiation is so dim that the thermal method is only applicable to the largest KBOs. For the majority of (small) objects, the diameter is estimated by assuming an albedo. However, the albedos found range from 0.50 down to 0.05, resulting in a size range of 1200–3700 km for an object of magnitude of 1.0.^[22]

See also

• Dwarf planet
• List of trans-Neptunian objects
• Mesoplanet
• Nemesis (hypothetical star)
• Small Solar System body
• Triton
• Tyche (hypothetical planet)

Notes

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 The literature is inconsistent in the use of the phrases "scattered disc" and "Kuiper belt". For some, they are distinct populations; for others, the scattered disk is part of the Kuiper belt, in which case the low-eccentricity population is called the "classical Kuiper belt". Authors may even switch between these two uses in a single publication.^[1] In this article, the scattered disk will be considered a separate population from the Kuiper belt.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Trans-Neptunian objects.

• Nine planets, University of Arizona
• David Jewitt's Kuiper Belt site
  • Large KBO page
• A list of the estimates of the diameters from johnstonarchive with references to the original papers

v t e Trans-Neptunian objects TNO classes Cubewanos Scattered-disc objects Detached objects Resonant objects (Neptune trojans Plutinos Twotinos) Natural satellites Double objects Plutoids & moons Pluto Charon (Pluto I) Nix (Pluto II) Hydra (Pluto III) Kerberos (Pluto IV) Styx (Pluto V) Haumea Hi'iaka (Haumea I) Namaka (Haumea II) Makemake Eris Dysnomia (Eris I)

v t e Dwarf planets Asteroid belt Ceres Kuiper belt Pluto Makemake Haumea Likely: Orcus Quaoar Ixion Salacia Chaos Varda 2002 AW197 2005 UQ513 2002 UX25 Varuna 2007 JJ43 2002 MS4 2005 RN43 2004 GV9 2003 VS2 2003 AZ84 2004 XA192 2010 RE64 2010 RF43 2003 UZ413 Scattered disc Eris Likely: 2007 OR10 2007 UK126 2005 QU182 2006 QH181 2010 EK139 2002 TC302 2010 KZ39 2001 UR163 Other Likely: Sedna See also: Triton List of trans-Neptunian objects List of possible dwarf planets List of Solar System objects List of Solar System objects by size

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