Other
Scientific paper
Sep 1998
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1998dps....30.5101t&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #30, #51.01; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 30, p.1111
Other
Scientific paper
Here we report on the results of a three-year survey of the broad-band optical colors of about one-quarter of the known Kuiper-belt objects using the Steward Observatory 2.3-m telescope and the Kitt Peak National Observatory 4.0-m telescope. We find that their B-V and V-R colors indicate the presence of two distinct populations: one consists of objects whose surface colors are only slightly redder than the color of the Sun, while the other consists of the reddest objects known in the Solar System(1) . The later population may have surfaces rich in complex carbon-bearing compounds. Our results can be summarized in the color-color diagram below. The extraordinarily red objects are in the upper right corner and the nearly solar-colored objects are in the lower left corner. The lack of any correlation between the colors of the objects and their orbital properties makes it difficult to point to a mechanism responsible for the two populations. This research is supported by the NASA Origins of Solar Systems Program. 1 Tegler & Romanishin 1998, Nature 392, 49.
Romanishin William
Tegler Stephen C.
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