Abstract
The Centaurs—a group of objects orbiting chaotically among the giant planets of our Solar System—appear to be a population transitional in size between typical short-period comets and the large Kuiper-belt objects that orbit beyond Neptune. They promise to reveal much about the origin of and interrelationships between the icy bodies of the outer Solar System.
Similar content being viewed by others
Enjoying our latest content?
Log in or create an account to continue
- Access the most recent journalism from Nature's award-winning team
- Explore the latest features & opinion covering groundbreaking research
or
References
Kowal, C. T. Icarus 77, 118–123 (1989).
Weissman, P. R. & Levison, H. F. in Pluto & Charon (eds Tholen, D. J. & Stem, S. A.) (Univ. Arizona Press, Tucson, in the press).
Oikawa, S. & Everhart, E. Astron. J. 84, 134–139 (1979).
Dones, L., Levison, H. F. & Duncan, M. D. in The Content of the Solar System (ed. Rettig, T.) (ASP Conf. Ser., in the press).
Tholen, D. J. et al. IAU Circ. No. 4554 (1988).
Hartmann, W. K., Cruikshank, D. P. & Tholen, D. J. Icarus 83, 1–15 (1989).
Meech, K. J. & Belton, M. J. S. Astron. J. 100, 1323–1338 (1990).
Stern, S. A. Publ. Astron. Soc. Pacif. 101, 126–132 (1989).
Duncan, M. J., Quinn, T. & Tremaine, S. 328, L69–L73 (1988).
Quinn, T. R., Tremaine, S. & Duncan, M. J. Astrophys. J. 355, 667–679 (1990).
Levison, H. F. & Duncan, M. J. Astrophys. J. 406, L35–L38 (1993).
Duncan, M. J., Levison, H. F. & Budd, S. M. Astron. J. 110, 3073–3081 (1995).
Gladman, B. & Duncan, M. J. Astron. J. 100, 1680–1693 (1990).
Wisdom, J. & Holman, M. Astron. J. 102, 1528–1538 (1991).
Levison, H. F. & Duncan, M. J. Icarus (submitted).
Levison, H. F. & Shoemaker, E. Icarus (submitted).
Kuiper, G. P. in Astrophysics: A Topical Symposium (ed. Hynek, J. A.) 357–406 (McGraw Hill, New York, 1951).
Edgeworth, K. E. Mon. not. R. Astron. Soc. 109, 600–609 (1949).
Jewitt, D. C. & Luu, J. X. Nature 362, 730–732 (1993).
Jewitt, D. C. & Luu, J. X. Astron. J. 109, 1867–1873 (1995).
Cochran, A. L. et al. Astrophys. J. 455, 342–346 (1995).
Campins, H. et al. Astron. J. 108, 2318–2322 (1994).
Mumma, M. J., Weissman, P. R. & Stern, S. A. in Protostars ancf Planets III (eds Levy, E. H. & Lunine, J. I.) 1177–1252 (Univ. Arizona Press, Tucson, 1993).
Bus, S. J. et al. Icarus (in the press).
Davies, J. K. et al. IAU Circ. No. 5698 (1996).
Davies, J. K. et al. Icarus 102, 166–169 (1993).
Cruikshank, D. P. in International School of Space Chemistry (ed. Greenberg, M.) (1994).
Wilson, P. D., Sagan, C. & Thompson, W. R. Icarus 107, 288–303 (1994).
Luu, J. X., Jewitt, D. C. & Cloutis, E. Icarus 108, 133–144 (1994).
Cruikshank, D. P. et al. Icarus (submitted).
Buie, M. W. & Bus, S. J. Icarus 100, 288–294 (1992).
Davies, J. K. & Tholen, D. J. in The Content of the Solar System (ed. Rettig, T.) (ASP Conf. Ser., in the press).
Tholen, D. J. et al. IAU Circ. No. 4554 (1988).
Hartmann, W. K., Cruikshank, D. P. & Tholen, D. J. Icarus 83, 1–15 (1989).
Meech, K. J. & Belton, M. J. S. Astron. J. 100, 1323–1338 (1990).
Larson, S. & Marcialis, R. L. IAU Circ. No. 5669 (1992).
Bus, S. J. Science 251, 774–776 (1991).
Bus, S. J. et al. in Proc. Distant Comet Activity Workshop (eds Keller, H. U.& Huebner, W.) 41–43 (Southwest Res. Inst, San Antonio, Texas, 1993).
Womack, M. & Stern, S. A. IAU Circ. No. 6193 (1995).
Womack, M. & Stern, S. A. Astrophys. J. (submitted).
Luu, J. X. & Jewitt, D. C. Astron. J. 100, 913–932 (1990).
Buratti, B. J. & Dunbar, R. S. Astrophys. J. 366, L47–L49 (1991).
Elliot, J. L. et al. Nature 373, 46–48 (1995).
Stern, S. A., Jackson, A. A. & Boice, D. C. Astron. J. 107, 765–771 (1994).
Kirk, R. L. et al. in Neptune & Triton (ed. Cruikshank, D.) 949–989 (Univ. Arizona Press, Tucson, 1995).
Boice, D. C. et al. in Proc. Distant Comet Activity Workshop (eds Keller, H. U. & Huebner, W.) 134–139 (Southwest Res. Inst., San Antonio, Texas, 1993).
Stern, S. A. Astron. J. (in the press).
Davis, D. R. & Farinella, P. Icarus (submitted).
Stern, S. A. Astron. J. 110, 856–865 (1995).
McKinnon, W. B. Nature 311, 355–358 (1984).
Stern, S. A. Icarus 90, 271–281 (1991).
Stern, S. A., McKinnon, W. B. & Lunine, J. I. in Pluto & Charon (eds Tholen, D. J. & Stern, S. A.) (Univ. Arizona Press, Tucson, in the press).
Marsden, B. & Williams, G. W. Minor Planet Electronic Circular, 1996-E02 1996.
Campins, H., Rieke, G. H. & Lebofsky, M. J. Astron. J. 90, 896–899 (1985).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Stern, A., Campins, H. Chiron and the Centaurs: escapees from the Kuiper belt. Nature 382, 507–510 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1038/382507a0
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/382507a0
This article is cited by
-
Nature and evolution of lithospheric mantle beneath the southern Ethiopian rift zone: evidence from petrology and geochemistry of mantle xenoliths
International Journal of Earth Sciences (2017)
-
A Model for the Common Origin of Jupiter Family and Halley Type Comets
Earth, Moon, and Planets (2013)
-
Two distinct populations of Kuiper-belt objects
Nature (1998)
-
Two shades beyond Neptune
Nature (1998)