In IAUC 8636, Mike Brown et al. announced the discovery of a second satellite around the TNO 2003 EL61. The satellite K'-band magnitude was 4.6 mag fainter than the primary and at a separation of 0.3 arcsec.
IAUC: http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iauc/08600/08636.html
More information at: http://www.gps.caltech.edu/~mbrown/2003EL61
In CBET 401, Noll et al. report a satellite around the Centaur?/SDO? 2002 CR46. The satellite magnitude was 1.2 mag fainter than the primary and at a separation of 0.11 arcsec.
CBET: http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/cbet/000400/CBET000401.txt
SpaceRef.com announced the addition of a new PlutoToday website covering
news of Pluto, Charon, and other Kuiper Belt Objects. See:
http://www.plutotoday.com
There were 8 new TNO discoveries announced since the previous issue of Distant EKOs:
2005 VA123, 2005 VZ122, 2005 XN113, 2006 AK98, 2006 AL98, 2006 AM98, 2006 AN98, 2006 AO98
and 1 new Centaur/SDO discovery:
2005 VB123
Objects recently assigned names:
2000 EC98 = Echeclus
Current number of TNOs: 931 (including Pluto)
Current number of Centaurs/SDOs: 161
Current number of Neptune Trojans: 5
Current number of satellites: 19 around 16 objects
Out of a total of 1097 objects:
505 have measurements from only one opposition
442 of those have had no measurements for more than a year
220 of those have arcs shorter than 10 days
(for more details, see:
http://www.boulder.swri.edu/ekonews/objects/recov_stats.gif)
The most distant known object in the Solar System, 2003 UB313 (97 AU
from the Sun), was recently discovered near its aphelion. Its high
eccentricity and inclination to the ecliptic plane, along with its
perihelion near the orbit of Neptune, identify it as a member of
the `scattered disk'. This disk of bodies probably originates in
the Kuiper belt objects, which orbit near the ecliptic plane in
circular orbits between 30 and 50 AU, and may include Pluto as a
member. The optical brightness of 2003 UB313, if adjusted to Pluto's
distance, is greater than that of Pluto, which suggested that it
might be larger than Pluto. The actual size, however, could not be
determined from the optical measurements because the surface
reflectivity (albedo) was unknown. Here we report observations of
the thermal emission of 2003 UB313 at a wavelength of 1.2 mm, which
in combination with the measured optical brightness leads to a
diameter of
km. Here the first error reflects
measurement uncertainties, while the second derives from the unknown
object orientation. This makes 2003 UB313 the largest known
trans-neptunian object, even larger than Pluto (2,300 km). The
albedo is
, which is strikingly similar to
that of Pluto, suggesting that the methane seen in the optical
spectrum causes a highly reflective icy surface.
Published in: Nature, 439, 563 (2006 February 2)
For reprints, contact bertoldi@astro.uni-bonn.de
We measured the system-integrated thermal emission of the binary
Kuiper Belt Object (47171) 1999 TC36 at wavelengths near 24
and 70 
m using the Spitzer space telescope. We fit
these data and the visual magnitude using both the Standard Thermal
Model and thermophysical models. We find that the effective diameter
of the binary is 405 km, with a range of 350-470 km, and the
effective visible geometric albedo for the system is 0.079 with a
range of 0.055-0.11. The binary orbit, magnitude contrast between
the components, and system mass have been determined from HST data
(Margot et al., 2004; 2005a; 2005b). Our effective diameter,
combined with that system mass, indicate an average density for the
objects of 0.5 g/cm3, with a range 0.3-0.8 g/cm3. This
density is low compared to that of materials expected to be abundant
in solid bodies in the trans-Neptunian region, requiring 50-75%
of the interior of (47171) 1999 TC36 be taken up by void space.
This conclusion is not greatly affected if (47171) 1999 TC36
is ``differentiated'' (in the sense of having either a rocky or
just a non-porous core). If the primary is itself a binary, the
average density of that (hypothetical) triple system would be in
the range 0.4-1.1 g/cm3, with a porosity in the range 15-70%.
To appear in: Astrophysical Journal, 643 (2006 May)
For preprints, contact stansber@as.arizona.edu
or on the web at http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0602316
We have calculated the early thermal evolution of Trans-Neptunian Objects by means of a thermal evolution code that takes into account simultaneous accretion. The set of coupled partial differential equations for 26Al radioactive heating, transformation of amorphous to crystalline ice and melting of water ice was solved numerically for small porous icy (cometary-like) bodies growing to final radii between 2 km and 32 km and accreting between 20 AU and 44 AU. Accretion within a swarm of gravitationally interacting small bodies was calculated self-consistently with a simple accretion algorithm and thermal evolution of a typical member of the swarm was tracked in a parameter-space survey. We find that including accretion in numerical modeling of thermal evolution leads to a broad variety of thermally processed icy bodies and that the early occurrence of liquid water and extended crystalline ice interiors may be a very common phenomenon. The pristine nature of small icy bodies becomes thus restricted to a particular set of initial conditions. Generally, long-period comets should be more thermally affected than short-period ones.
To appear in: Icarus
For preprints, contact merkrain@post.tau.ac.il
We have obtained a near-infrared spectrum of the brightest satellite
of the large Kuiper Belt object 2003 EL61. The spectrum has
absorption features at 1.5 and 2.0 m, indicating that water ice
is present on the surface. We find that the satellites absorption
lines are much deeper than water ice features typically found on
Kuiper Belt objects. We argue that the unusual spectrum indicates
that the satellite was likely formed by impact and not by capture.
To appear in: Astrophysical Journal Letters
For preprints, contact barkume[@]caltech.edu
or on the web at
http://www.gps.caltech.edu/~barkume/publications.html
The Edgeworth-Kuiper belt encodes the dynamical history of the outer solar
system. Kuiper belt objects (KBOs)
bear witness to coagulation physics, the evolution of planetary orbits,
and external perturbations from the solar neighborhood.
We critically review the present-day belt's observed properties
and the theories designed to explain them.
Theories are organized according to a possible time-line
of events. In chronological order, epochs described include
(1) coagulation of KBOs in a dynamically cold disk,
(2) formation of binary KBOs by fragmentary collisions and gravitational
captures,
(3) stirring of KBOs by Neptune-mass planets (``oligarchs''),
(4) eviction of excess oligarchs,
(5) continued stirring of KBOs
by remaining planets whose orbits circularize by dynamical friction,
(6) planetary migration and capture of Resonant KBOs,
(7) creation of the inner Oort cloud by passing stars in an open stellar
cluster,
(8) in situ coagulation of Neptune Trojans, and
(9) collisional comminution of the smallest KBOs.
Recent work underscores how small, collisional, primordial planetesimals
having low velocity dispersion permit the rapid assembly of 
5
Neptune-mass
oligarchs at distances of 20-40 AU. We explore the consequences of such
a picture. We propose that Neptune-mass planets
whose orbits cross into the Kuiper belt for up to 40 Myr
help generate the high-perihelion members
of the hot Classical disk and Scattered belt.
By contrast, raising perihelia by sweeping secular resonances during
Neptune's migration might fill these reservoirs too inefficiently when
account is made of how
little primordial mass might reside in bodies large enough to be observable.
These and other frontier issues in trans-Neptunian space are discussed
quantitatively.
To appear in: Protostars and Planets V (eds. B. Reipurth, D. Jewitt, and K. Keil)
For preprints, contact echiang@astron.berkeley.edu
or on the web at http://xxx.lanl.gov/astro-ph/0601654
The Surface of 2003 EL61 in the Near Infrared
C.A. Trujillo1, M.E. Brown2, K.M. Barkume2, E.L. Schaller2, and D.L. Rabinowitz3
1 Gemini Observatory, 670 N. A`ohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720,
USA
2 California Institute of Technology, Div. of Geological and
Planetary Sciences, M/C 150-21, Pasadena CA 91125, USA
3 Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Physics
Department, Yale University, P.O. Box 208121, New Haven, Connecticut
06520-8121, USA
Submitted to: The Astrophysical Journal
For preprints, contact trujillo@gemini.edu
or on the web at http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0601618
Pluto's Moon System: Survey of the Phase Space I
I. Nagy1, A. Suli1, and B. Erdi1
1 Department of Astronomy, Eötvös University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/A, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
For preprints, contact i.nagy@astro.elte.hu
or on the web at http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0602543
Orbit Observation Properties of Kuiper Belt Objects
X. Wu, Q. Nie, and Y. Yang
Journal of Hebei Normal University, Natural Science Edition, 29, 572-577
Orbital Migration and the Period Distribution of Exoplanets
A. Del Popolo1, N. Ercan1, and I.S. Yesilyurt1
1 Bogazici University, Physics Department, 80815 Bebek, Istanbul, Turkey
Published in: Astronomy & Astrophysics 436, 363-372
For preprints, contact antonino.delpopolo@boun.edu.tr
Solar System Binaries
Keith S. Noll1
1 Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
To appear in: Asteroids, Comets, Meteors 2005; Proceedings IAU Symposium No. 229
For preprints, contact noll@stsci.edu
or on the web at http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0603122
We accept submissions for the following sections:
Distant EKOs is not a refereed publication, but is a tool for furthering communication among people interested in Kuiper belt research. Publication or listing of an article in the Newsletter or the web page does not constitute an endorsement of the article's results or imply validity of its contents. When referencing an article, please reference the original source; Distant EKOs is not a substitute for peer-reviewed journals.
