Other
Scientific paper
Sep 2009
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009dps....41.1615g&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #41, #16.15
Other
Scientific paper
Dwarf planets are now recognized as a third class of planets, along with terrestrial and giant planets. In terms of physical attributes (hydrostatic shape, presence of atmospheres, satellites), there is no clear dividing line between dwarf planets on one hand and terrestrial planets and large icy satellites on the other. Five dwarf planets are presently recognized - Eris, Pluto, Haumea, Makemake, and Ceres - and this list will only grow with time. All five are icy or at least water-rich. As of 2009, New Horizons (a New Frontiers mission) is en route to the first encounter with the Pluto-Charon system in 2015, and Dawn (a Discovery mission) is in flight and slated to orbit Ceres, also in 2015. Given the newness of this field of study, many scientific questions about the dwarf planets remain to be addressed, which impacts our understanding of the Solar System as a whole. We will summarize both the critical science questions for and scientific importance of dwarf planet exploration, and for the 2013-2022 timeframe of the Planetary Science Decadal Survey, the most important mission targets and other efforts necessary to understand these worlds.
Ammannito Eleonora
Castillo-Rogez Julie C.
Grundy William M.
McKinnon William B.
Merline William Jon
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