Talk:2060 Chiron/Collaboration

Sources

Campins, H. (December 1994). "The Color Temperature of (2060) Chiron: A Warm and Small Nucleus". The Astronomical Journal. 108 (6): 2318–2322. Bibcode:1994AJ....108.2318C. doi:10.1086/117244. ISSN 0004-6256. Retrieved 2009-03-15. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

• Known as 1977 UB before it was named p. 2318
• Named 2060 Chiron in 1979
• Was the most distant known minor planet at the time
• Brightening was first observed in 1988 by Tholen et. al.
• Coma (1989) and tail (1993)
• Rotational period is 5.917813h p. 2319
  • Based on light curve measurement
• Chiron is spectrally neutral in the visible and near infrared
• No strong H2O bands
• Chiron is the largest known cometary nucleus
• Chiron's size and temperature influence the dynamics of its dust and gas coma

Luu, Jane X. (September 1990). "Cometary activity in 2060 Chiron". The Astronomical Journal. 100: 913–932. Bibcode:1990AJ....100..913L. doi:10.1086/115571. ISSN 0004-6256. Retrieved 2009-03-15. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

• At Chiron's distance water, the major coma component of other comets, does not sublimate p924
• Gases sublimated from sunlit side escape directly into space p925
• Spectrum is similar to C-type asteroids and Comet Halley p929

Hartmann, William K. (January 1990). "2060 Chiron: Colorimetry and cometary behavior". Icarus. 83 (1). USA: Elsevier Science: 1–15. doi:10.1016/0019-1035(90)90002-Q. Retrieved 2009-03-15. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

• Chiron resembles Phoebe in color, size and possibly dynamical history
• Chiron may experience weak, irregular outbursts similar to comet Schwassmann-Wachmann 1

Meech, Karen J. (October 1990). "The Atmosphere of 2060 Chiron". The Astronomical Journal. 100: 1323–1338. Bibcode:1990AJ....100.1323M. doi:10.1086/115600. ISSN 0004-6256. Retrieved 2009-03-16. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

• Coma was first detected when Chiron was 11.82AU from sun
• Coma can be explained in terms of dust gravitationally bound to Chiron
• Areas of CO ice sublimate, taking dust along with the gas flow
• The dust (~1um) is too massive to escape Chiron's relatively high gravity
• Remains bound to the comet
• Coma's radius is 5000km
  • this is where radiation pressure exceeds Chiron's gravitational influence

Bus, Schelte J. (February 1991). "Detection of CN Emission from (2060) Chiron". Science. 251 (4995): 774–777. doi:10.1126/science.251.4995.774. Retrieved 2009-03-16. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

• Emissions of Cyanide (CN) have been detected from Chiron
• At the time, furthest detection of a neutral gas species common in comets

Foster, Michael J. (October 1999). "Detection of Water Ice on 2060 Chiron". Icarus. 141 (2): 408–410. doi:10.1006/icar.1999.6180. Retrieved 2009-03-16. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

• Water ice has been detected on Chiron

Womack, Maria (1999). "The Detection of Carbon Monoxide Gas Emission in (2060) Chiron". Solar System Research. 33: 187. Bibcode:1999SoSyR..33..187W. Retrieved 2009-03-16. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

• Chiron's orbit is unstable due to the gas giants (lifetime order of 10^6 years)
• Low inclination and size similarity to Kuiper objects is evidence that it may be one
• Experiences more insolation than other Kuiper objects
• Carbon Monoxide (CO) detected in coma
  • Probably the main driver of Chiron's activity

Stern, Alan (8 August, 1996). "Chiron and the Centaurs: Escapees from the Kuiper Belt". Nature. 382: 507–510. ISSN http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19970010415_1997013373.pdf. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check |issn= value (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); External link in |issn= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

• Chiron's orbit "highly chaotic"
• Due to short lifetime in current orbit, must have come from a more stable reservoir
  • Asteroid belt ruled out; no volatiles would be left
  • Distant reservoir beyond the giant planets
• Pre-recovery images showed an outburst when Chiron was near aphelion
  • Indicates extremely volatile ices such as CO, N2 and CH4
• Chiron may have localized vents or jets similar to the geysers on Triton

Kowal, C. T. (1979). "The Discovery and Orbit of (2060) Chiron". Dynamics of the solar system; Proceedings of the Symposium, Tokyo, Japan, May 23-26, 1978. Tokyo: Reidel Publishing Co. pp. 245–250. Bibcode:1979IAUS...81..245K. Retrieved 2009-03-17. {{cite conference}}: Unknown parameter |booktitle= ignored (|book-title= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

• Chiron was discovered on November 1, 1977, by Charles Kowal
  • Images taken two weeks earlier
• Discovered near aphelion
• No close approaches to Uranus
• Approached within 0.1AU of Saturn in -1664 ==> The problem with the 1664BC passage is (1) it was generating using older orbital data from the 1970s (2) it only took the 5 outer planets into consideration (Page 247; Paragraph 3). (3) Even Kowal says, "the earlier motion must be considered rather uncertain". The modern programs Solex and Gravity Simulator are far more reliable and have been used in FA articles like Mercury (Paragraph 3, Ref 78) and Mars (Ref 68).
• Not found at previous perihelion (1945) because few searches were being made and these were not sensitive to slow-moving objects
• The Lowell Observatory's survey for distant planets would not have gone down faint enough in the 1930's and did not cover the right region of the sky in the 1940's. (Page 246 Paragraph 2)
• temporary libration around the 3:5 resonance with Saturn, but the long-term fluctuation seems tends to bring the motion more under the influence of of the stronger 2:3 resonance after about 6,000 years. (Page 274 Paragraph 4)
• Chiron was one of the centaurs and it was suggested that the names of other centaurs be reserved for other objects of the same type. (Page 249 Paragraph 3)
• Several precovery images going back to 1895
  • Allowed orbit to be calculated accurately