Limits on the number of primordial Scattered Disk objects at Pluto mass and higher from the absence of their dynamical signatures on the present day trans-Neptunian Populations
Andrew Shannon, Rebekah I. Dawson
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Accepted Version, to appear in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Today, Pluto and Eris are the largest and most massive Trans-Neptunian Objects respectively. They are believed to be the last remnants of a population of planetesimals that has been reduced by >99% since the time of its formation. This reduction implies a primordial population of hundreds or thousands of Pluto-mass objects, and a mass-number distribution that could have extended to hundreds of Lunas, dozens of Mars, and several Earths. Such lost protoplanets would have left signatures in the dynamics of the present-day Trans-Neptunian Populations, and we statistically limit their primordial number by considering the survival of ultra-wide binary TNOs, the Cold Classical Kuiper belt, and the resonant population. We find that if the primordial mass-number distribution extended to masses greater than Pluto (~1e-3 Earth masses), it must have turned downwards to be no more top-heavy than roughly equal mass per log size, a significant deviation from the distribution observed between 1e-5 and 1e-3 Earth masses. We compare these limits to the predicted mass-number distribution of various planetesimal and proto-planet growth models. The limits derived here provide a test for future models of planetesimal formation.
The Pluto system is an archetype for the multitude of icy dwarf planets and accompanying satellite systems that populate the vast volume of the solar system beyond Neptune. New Horizons' exploration of Pluto and its five moons gave us a glimpse into the range of properties that their kin may host. Furthermore, the surfaces of Pluto and Charon record eons of bombardment by small trans-Neptunian objects, and by treating them as witness plates we can infer a few key properties of the trans-Neptunian population at sizes far below current direct-detection limits. This chapter summarizes what we hav…
The discovery of the largest trans-neptunian object 2003 UB313 (dwarf planet Eris) was made more than 5 years ago, but the question on the true relation of the sizes of Pluto and Eris (and according to of their densities) remains debatable in view of a sizable scatter of their size's estimates obtained by the various methods. Here, we first used a semi-empirical approach to deduce the expression linking the orbital parameter eccentricity to the physical properties of the trans-neptunian dwarf planets and have applied it to determining the mean size of these planets. In doing so is proved that …
We use astrometry of Pluto and other TNOs to constrain the sky location, distance, and mass of the possible additional planet (Planet Nine) hypothesized by Batygin and Brown (2016). We find that over broad regions of the sky, the inclusion of a massive, distant planet degrades the fits to the observations. However, in other regions, the fits are significantly improved by the addition of such a planet. Our best fits suggest a planet that is either more massive or closer than argued for by Batygin and Brown (2016) based on the orbital distribution of distant trans-neptunian objects (or by Fienga…
The existence of an outer planet beyond Pluto has been a matter of debate for decades and the recent discovery of 2012 VP113 has just revived the interest for this controversial topic. This Sedna-like object has the most distant perihelion of any known minor planet and the value of its argument of perihelion is close to 0 degrees. This property appears to be shared by almost all known asteroids with semimajor axis greater than 150 au and perihelion greater than 30 au (the extreme trans-Neptunian objects or ETNOs), and this fact has been interpreted as evidence for the existence of a super-Eart…
It is a well-known fact that the presence of a massive perturber interacting with a population of minor bodies following very eccentric orbits can strongly affect the distribution of their nodal distances. The details of this process have been explored numerically and its outcome confirmed observationally in the case of Jupiter, where a bimodal distribution of nodal distances of comets has been found. Here, we show evidence for a possible bimodal distribution of the nodal distances of the extreme trans-Neptunian objects (ETNOs) in the form of a previously unnoticed correlation between nodal di…
We consider a scenario where the small satellites of Pluto and Charon grew within a disk of debris from an impact between Charon and a trans-Neptunian Object (TNO). After Charon's orbital motion boosts the debris into a disk-like structure, rapid orbital damping of meter-size or smaller objects is essential to prevent the subsequent re-accretion or dynamical ejection by the binary. From analytical estimates and simulations of disk evolution, we estimate an impactor radius of 30-100 km; smaller (larger) radii apply to an oblique (direct) impact. Although collisions between large TNOs and Charon…
The Effect of Massive Trans-Neptunian Objects in the Long-term Evolution and Leaking Rates of Neptune's 3:2 and 2:1 Mean Motion Resonances
Instituto de Astronomía y Ciencias Planetarias, Universidad de Atacama（阿塔卡马大学行星科学与天文研究所）；Instituto de Astrofísica, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile（智利天主教宗座大学天体物理研究所）；Instituto de Astronomía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México（墨西哥国立自治大学天文学研究所）；Millennium Institute for Astrophysics（天体物理学千年研究所）；Department of Astronomy, Indiana University（印第安纳大学天文学系）
We study the impactor flux and cratering on Pluto and Charon due to the collisional evolution of Plutinos. Plutinos are those trans-Neptunian objects located at 39.5 AU, in the 3:2 mean motion resonance with Neptune. To do this, we develop a statistical code that includes catastrophic collisions and cratering events, and takes into account the stability and instability zones of the 3:2 mean motion resonance with Neptune. We proposes different initial populations that account for the uncertainty in the size distribution of Plutinos at small sizes. Depending on the initial population, our result…
Using a suite of numerical calculations, we consider the long-term evolution of circumbinary debris from the Pluto-Charon giant impact. Initially, these solids have large eccentricity and pericenters near Charon's orbit. On time scales of 100-1000 yr, dynamical interactions with Pluto and Charon lead to the ejection of most solids from the system. As the dynamics moves particles away from the barycenter, collisional damping reduces the orbital eccentricity of many particles. These solids populate a circumbinary disk in the Pluto-Charon orbital plane; a large fraction of this material lies with…
In this work, we focused on observations of six trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) whose apparent magnitudes are brighter than 20 mag. We present the results of astrometric and photometric observations of (134340) Pluto, (136108) Haumea, (136472) Makemake, (136199) Eris, (90482) Orcus and (20000) Varuna obtained at the Kyiv comet station (Code MPC 585) in 2017-2019. For observations, we used the 0.7-m reflector AZT-8 with the FLI PL4710 CCD camera and filters of the Johnson-Cousins photometric system. From our images, we measured the objects astrometric positions, calculated apparent magnitudes in…
Secular dynamics inside MMRs plays an essential role in governing the dynamical structure of the trans-Neptunian region and sculpting the orbital distribution of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs). In this study, semi-analytical developments are made to explore the von Zeipel-Lidov-Kozai (ZLK) resonance inside mean motion resonances (MMRs). To this end, a semi-secular model is formulated by averaging theory and then a single-degree-of-freedom integrable model is achieved based on the adiabatic invariance approximation. In particular, we introduce a modified adiabatic invariant, which is continuous…
Asymmetric debris discs have been found around stars other than the Sun; asymmetries are sometimes attributed to perturbations induced by unseen planets. The presence or absence of asymmetries in our own trans-Neptunian belt remains controversial. The study of sensitive tracers in a sample of objects relatively free from the perturbations exerted by the four known giant planets and most stellar flybys may put an end to this debate. The analysis of the distribution of the mutual nodal distances of the known extreme trans-Neptunian objects (ETNOs) that measure how close two orbits may get to eac…
Asteroids that follow similar orbits may have a dynamical connection as their current paths could be the result of a past interaction with a massive perturber. The pair of extreme trans-Neptunian objects or ETNOs (474640) 2004 VN112-2013 RF98 exhibits peculiar relative orbital properties, including a difference in longitude of the ascending node of just 1.61 degrees and 3.99 degrees in inclination. In addition, their reflectance spectra are similar in the visible portion of the spectrum. The origin of these similarities remains unclear. Neglecting observational bias, viable scenarios that coul…
Recent studies have revealed that all large (over 1000 km in diameter) trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) form satellite systems. Although the largest Plutonian satellite, Charon, is thought to be an intact fragment of an impactor directly formed via a giant impact, whether giant impacts can explain the variations in secondary-to-primary mass ratios and spin/orbital periods among all large TNOs remains to be determined. Here we systematically perform hydrodynamic simulations to investigate satellite formation via giant impacts. We find that the simulated secondary-to-primary mass ratio varies over…
At 30-50 K, the temperatures typical for surfaces in the Kuiper Belt (e.g. Stern & Trafton 2008), only seven species have sublimation pressures higher than 1 nbar (Fray & Schmitt 2009): Ne, N$_2$, CO, Ar, O$_2$, CH$_4$, and Kr. Of these, N$_2$, CO, and CH$_4$ have been detected or inferred on the surfaces of Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs). The presence of tenuous atmospheres above these volatile ices depends on the sublimation pressures, which are very sensitive to the composition, temperatures, and mixing states of the volatile ices. Therefore, the retention of volatiles on a TNO is related t…
Impacts between planetary-sized bodies can explain the origin of satellites orbiting large ($R>500$~km) trans-Neptunian objects. Their water rich composition, along with the complex phase diagram of water, make it important to accurately model the wide range of thermodynamic conditions material experiences during an impact event and in the debris disk. Since differences in the thermodynamics may influence the system dynamics, we seek to evaluate how the choice of an equation of state (EOS) alters the system's evolution. Specifically, we compare two EOSs that are constructed by different approa…
We present the discovery of a long-term stable L5 (trailing) Neptune Trojan in data acquired to search for candidate Trans-Neptunian objects for the New Horizons spacecraft to fly by during an extended post-Pluto mission. This Neptune Trojan, 2011 HM102, has the highest inclination (29.4 degrees) of any known member of this population. It is intrinsically brighter than any single L5 Jupiter Trojan at H~8.18. We have determined its gri colors (a first for any L5 Neptune Trojan), which we find to be similar to the moderately red colors of the L4 Neptune Trojans, suggesting similar surface proper…
The existence of significant anisotropies in the distributions of the directions of perihelia and orbital poles of the known extreme trans-Neptunian objects (ETNOs) has been used to claim that trans-Plutonian planets may exist. Among the known ETNOs, the pair (474640) 2004 VN112-2013 RF98 stands out. Their orbital poles and the directions of their perihelia and their velocities at perihelion/aphelion are separated by a few degrees, but orbital similarity does not necessarily imply common physical origin. In an attempt to unravel their physical nature, visible spectroscopy of both targets was o…
Through a semi-analytic approach of the Kozai resonance inside an MMR, we show phase diagrams (e,ω) that suggest the possibility of a scattered particle, after being captured in an MMR with Neptune, to become a detached object. We ran several numerical integrations with thousands of particles perturbed by the four major planets, and there are cases with and without Neptune's residual migration. These were developed to check the semi-analytic approach and to better understand the dynamical mechanisms that produce the detached objects close to an MMR. The numerical simulations with and without a…
We study large trans-neptunian objects (TNOs) using stellar occultations. We derive precise astrometric predictions for stellar occultations by Eris, Haumea, Ixion, Makemake, Orcus, Quaoar, Sedna, Varuna, 2002 TX300, and 2003 AZ84 for 2011-2015. We construct local astrometric catalogs of stars in the UCAC2 (Second US Naval Observatory CCD Astrograph Catalog) frame covering the sky path of these objects. For that purpose, during 2007-2009, we carried out an observational program at the ESO2p2/WFI (2.2 m Max-Planck ESO telescope with the Wide Field Imager) instrument. Astrometric catalogs with p…
Understanding the trans-Neptunian Solar system: Reconciling the results of serendipitous stellar occultations and the inferences from the cratering record
Context. The paths followed by the known extreme trans-Neptunian objects (ETNOs) effectively avoid direct gravitational perturbations from the four giant planets, yet their orbital eccentricities are in the range between 0.69-0.97. Solar system dynamics studies show that such high values of the eccentricity can be produced via close encounters or secular perturbations. In both cases, the presence of yet-to-be-discovered trans-Plutonian planets is required. Aims. If the high eccentricities of the known ETNOs are the result of relatively recent close encounters with putative planets, the mutual …
The sensitivity of ALMA makes it possible to detect thermal mm/submm emission from small/distant Solar System bodies at the sub-mJy level. Measured fluxes are primarily sensitive to the objects' diameters, but deriving precise sizes is somewhat hampered by the uncertain effective emissivity at these wavelengths. Following Brown and Butler (2017) who presented ALMA data for four binary TNOs, we report ALMA 1.29 mm measurements of four Centaurs (2002 GZ$_{32}$, Bienor, Chiron, Chariklo) and two TNOs (Huya and Makemake), sampling a range of size, albedo and composition. These thermal fluxes are c…
Many asteroids in the main and trans-Neptunian belts are trapped in mean motion resonances with Jupiter and Neptune, respectively. As a side effect, they experience accidental commensurabilities among themselves. These commensurabilities define characteristic patterns that can be used to trace the source of the observed resonant behaviour. Here, we explore systematically the existence of commensurabilities between the known ETNOs using their heliocentric and barycentric semimajor axes, their uncertainties, and Monte Carlo techniques. We find that the commensurability patterns present in the kn…
Transneptunian objects (TNOs) are bodies populating the Kuiper Belt and they are believed to retain the most pristine and least altered material of the solar system. The Herschel Open Time Key Program entitled "TNOs are Cool: A survey of the trans-Neptunian region" has been awarded 373 h to investigate the albedo, size distribution and thermal properties of TNOs and Centaurs. Here we focus on the brightest targets observed by both the PACS and SPIRE multiband photometers: the dwarf planet Haumea, six TNOs (Huya, Orcus, Quaoar, Salacia, 2002 UX25, and 2002 TC302), and two Centaurs (Chiron and C…
Within our international program to obtain accurate physical properties of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) we predicted a stellar occultation by the TNO (38628) Huya of the star Gaia DR2 4352760586390566400 (mG = 11.5 mag.) for March 18, 2019. After an extensive observational campaign, we updated the prediction and it turned out to be favorable to central Europe. Therefore, we mobilized half a hundred professional and amateur astronomers, and the occultation was finally detected from 21 telescopes located at 18 sites. This makes the Huya event one of the best ever observed stellar occultation b…
This article reviews the different mechanisms affecting the orbits of trans-Neptunian objects, ranging from internal perturbations (planetary scattering, mean-motion resonances, secular effects) to external perturbations (galactic tides, passing stars). We outline the theoretical tools that can be used to model and study them, focussing on analytical approaches. We eventually compare these mechanisms to the observed distinct populations of trans-Neptunian objects and conclude on how they participate to the sculpting of the whole distribution.
Context: The discovery of distant trans-Neptunian objects has led to heated discussions about the structure of the outer Solar System. Aims: We study the dynamical evolution of small bodies from the Hill regions of migrating giant gaseous clumps that form in the outer solar nebula via gravitational fragmentation. We attempt to determine whether the observed features of the orbital distribution of distant trans-Neptunian objects could be caused by this process. Methods: We consider a simple model that includes the Sun, two point-like giant clumps with masses of ~ 10 Jupiter masses, and a set of…
The Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs) may preserve evidence of planet building in their orbital and size-distributions. While all populations show steep size-distributions for large objects, recently relative deficit of Neptunian Trojans and scattering objects with diameters $D<100\,\mathrm{km}$ were detected. We have investigated this deficit with a 32 square degree survey, detecting 77 TNOs to a limiting $r$-band magnitude of 24.6. Our Plutinos sample (18 objects in 3:2 mean motion resonance with Neptune) also shows a deficit of $D<100\,\mathrm{km}$ objects. We reject a single power-law size-di…
The trans-Neptunian region of the solar system exhibits an intricate dynamical structure, much of which can be explained by an instability-driven orbital history of the giant planets. However, the origins of a highly inclined, and in certain cases retrograde, population of trans-Neptunian objects remain elusive within the framework of this evolutionary picture. In this work, we show that the existence of a distant, Neptune-like planet that resides on an eccentric and mildly inclined orbit fully accounts for the anomalous component the trans-Neptunian orbital distribution. Adopting the same par…
Recent observational surveys of trans-neptunian binary (TNB) systems have dramatically increased the number of known mutual orbits. Our Kozai Cycle Tidal Friction (KCTF) simulations of synthetic trans-neptunian binaries show that tidal dissipation in these systems can completely reshape their original orbits. Specifically, solar torques should have dramatically accelerated the semimajor axis decay and circularization timescales of primordial (or recently excited) TNBs. As a result, our initially random distribution of TNBs in our simulations evolved to have a large population of tight circular…
Trans-Neptunian objects and Centaurs are small solar system bodies that reside in the outer parts of the solar system. These objects present photometric behaviours that are influenced due to a change in their aspect angle. Using absolute photometric measurements and rotational light-curves at different location on their orbits allow to model their photometric behaviour and obtain physical properties such as pole orientation, shape, density, and even detecting different peculiarities as departure from hydrostatic equilibrium or rings. In this work, I present how these models are performed in or…
Trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) are icy/rocky bodies that move beyond the orbit of Neptune in a region known as the trans-Neptunian belt (or Edgeworth-Kuiper belt). In contrast to the predictions of accretion models that feature protoplanetary disk planetesimals evolving on dynamically cold orbits (with both very small eccentricities, e, and inclinations, i), in reality TNOs exhibit surprisingly wide ranges of orbital eccentricities and inclinations. Several theoretical models have addressed the origin and orbital evolution of the main dynamical classes of TNOs, but none have successfully repro…
The dependences of inclinations of orbits of secondaries in the discovered trans-Neptunian binaries on the distance between the primary and the secondary, on the eccentricity of orbits of the secondary around the primary, on the ratio of diameters of the secondary and the primary, and on the elements of heliocentric orbits of these binaries are studied. These dependences are interpreted using the model of formation of a satellite system in a collision of two rarefied condensations composed of dust and/or objects less than 1 m in diameter. It is assumed in this model that a satellite system for…
Two populations of minor bodies in the outer Solar System remain particularly elusive: Scattered Disk objects and Sedna-like objects. These populations are important dynamical tracers, and understanding the details of their spatial- and size-distributions will enhance our understanding of the formation and on-going evolution of the Solar System. By using newly-derived limits on the maximum heliocentric distances that recent pencil-beam surveys for Trans-Neptunian Objects were sensitive to, we determine new upper limits on the total numbers of distant SDOs and Sedna-like objects. While generall…
The formation of trans-Neptunian satellite systems at the stage of rarefied preplanetesimals (i.e., condensations of dust and/or objects less than 1 m in diameter) is discussed. It is assumed that trans-Neptunian objects (including those with satellites) could form as a result of compression of parental rarefied preplanetesimals. The formulas for calculating the angular momentum of two colliding condensations with respect to their center of mass, which were applied earlier in (Ipatov, 2010) in the comparison of such momenta with the angular momenta of observed satellite systems, are used to es…
Because of the objectively existing causes, such as an irregular shape of a celestial body, the lack of the satellites, the low values of albedo at moderate sizes, and a large remoteness from the Sun, creating a more exact the physical properties database of trans-Neptunian dwarf planets in comparison with existing that continues to remain a problem. We offer a new calculation procedure of the physical properties of these objects involving earlier unknown the relationships harmonizing these properties. It allows us to conjecture of they are a group of uniform celestial bodies by their origin b…
Neptunian Trojans (NTs), trans-Neptunian objects in 1:1 mean-motion resonance with Neptune, are generally thought to have been captured from the original trans-Neptunian protoplanetary disk into co-orbital resonance with the ice giant during its outward migration. It is possible, therefore, that the colour distribution of NTs is a constraint on the location of any colour transition zones that may have been present in the disk. In support of this possible test, we obtained $g$, $r$, and $i$-band observations of 18 NTs, more than doubling the sample of NTs with known visible colours to 31 object…
Aims. We study the dynamical evolution of a system consisting of the giant planets and a massive planetesimal disk over the age of the Solar System. The main question addressed in this study is whether distant trans-Neptunian objects could have come about as a result of the combined action of planetary perturbations and the self-gravity of the disk. Methods. We carried out a series of full N-body numerical simulations of gravitational interactions between the giant planets and a massive outer disk of planetesimals. Results. Our simulations show that the collective gravity of the giant planets …
A relatively massive and moderately eccentric disk of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) can effectively counteract apse precession induced by the outer planets, and in the process shepherd highly eccentric members of its population into nearly-stationary configurations which are anti-aligned with the disk itself. We were sufficiently intrigued by this remarkable feature to embark on an extensive exploration of the full spatial dynamics sustained by the combined action of giant planets and a massive trans-Neptunian debris disk. In the process, we identified ranges of disk mass, eccentricity and pr…
We report photometric observations of the trans-Neptunian object 2004~TT$_{357}$ obtained in 2015 and 2017 using the 4.3~m Lowell's Discovery Channel Telescope. We derive a rotational period of 7.79$\pm$0.01~h and a peak-to-peak lightcurve amplitude of 0.76$\pm$0.03~mag. 2004 TT$_{357}$ displays a large variability that can be explained by a very elongated single object or can be due to a contact/close binary. The most likely scenario is that 2004 TT$_{357}$ is a contact binary. If it is in hydrostatic equilibrium, we find that the lightcurve can be explained by a system with a mass ratio q$_{…
A number of intriguing patterns have been identified in the distributions of the orbital elements of the known extreme trans-Neptunian objects or ETNOs --those with semimajor axis greater than 150 au and perihelion distance greater than 30 au. The announcement of the discovery of 2015 BP519, also known as Caju, has been hailed by some as a consistent piece of robust evidence for the existence of a yet-to-be-discovered massive planet far beyond the trans-Neptunian belt. In this Note, we use the latest data available to provide evidence against 2015 BP519 having followed the same dynamical pathw…
Recently, the first collisional family was identified in the trans-Neptunian belt. The family consists of Haumea and at least ten other ~100km-sized trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) located in the region a = 42 - 44.5 AU. In this work, we model the long-term orbital evolution of an ensemble of fragments representing hypothetical post-collision distributions at the time of the family's birth. We consider three distinct scenarios, in which the kinetic energy of dispersed particles were varied such that their mean ejection velocities (veje) were of order 200 m/s, 300 m/s and 400 m/s, respectively. …
An analytic expression for the variation in surface and sub-surface temperature is developed for worlds whose surface pressures are nearly constant with latitude and longitude and whose atmospheres are in vapor-pressure equilibrium with the dominant surface volatiles. Such worlds include the current Pluto and Triton, and other volatile-covered Kuiper Belt Objects during some portion of their heliocentric orbit. The expressions also apply on worlds with negligible horizontal heat flow, such as asteroids. Temperature variations in volatile-covered or bare areas as a function of time is derived i…
The discovery and characteristics of transneptunian binaries are reviewed. In the 20 years since their first discovery, a wealth of detail has emerged including the frequency of binaries in different populations, their relative sizes and separations, and colors. Taken globally, these properties give strong clues to the origin and evolution of the populations where these binaries are found. In the last ten years and increasing number of binary orbits have been determined which yields a new trove of information on their masses and densities as well as details of their orbits including inclinatio…
Dynamical features of a massive disk of distant trans-Neptunian objects are considered in the model of the formation of small bodies in the Hill region of a giant gas-dust clump that arose as a result of gravitational instability and fragmentation of the protoplanetary disk. The dynamical evolution of orbits of small bodies under the action of gravitational perturbations from the outer planets and self-gravity of the disk has been studied for a time interval of the order of a billion years. It is shown that the secular effects of the gravitational action of a massive disk of small bodies lead …
The dynamically cold component of the Kuiper Belt is host to a population of very widely separated, near-equal mass binary systems. Such binaries, representing the tail of the separation distribution of the more common, more tightly-bound systems, are known to have on-sky separations up to ~4". Their wide separations make them highly valuable due to their delicacy and sensitivity to perturbation, and also makes them relatively easy targets to characterize from the ground. Parker et al. (2011) present a ground-based characterization of seven such systems with separations at discovery ranging fr…
We present estimates of the basic physical properties (size and albedo) of (90377) Sedna, a prominent member of the detached trans-Neptunian object population and the recently discovered scattered disk object 2010 EK139, based on the recent observations acquired with the Herschel Space Observatory, within the "TNOs are Cool!" key programme. Our modeling of the thermal measurements shows that both objects have larger albedos and smaller sizes than the previous expectations, thus their surfaces might be covered by ices in a significantly larger fraction. The derived diameter of Sedna and 2010 EK…
Recently, Sheppard et al. (2016) presented the discovery of seven new trans-Neptunian objects with moderate eccentricities, perihelia beyond 40 AU, and semimajor axes beyond 50 AU. Like the few previously known objects on similar orbits, these objects' semimajor axes are just beyond the Kuiper belt edge and clustered around Neptunian mean motion resonances (MMRs). These objects likely obtained their observed orbits while trapped within MMRs, when the Kozai-Lidov mechanism raised their perihelia and weakened Neptune's dynamical influence. Using numerical simulations that model the production of…
Space-based observatories at the second Sun-Earth Lagrange Point (L2) offer a unique opportunity to efficiently determine the orbits of distant solar system objects by taking advantage of the parallax effect that arises from nearly simultaneous ground- and space-based observations. Given the typical orbit of an observatory about L2, the observational baseline of $\sim1.5\times10^6$ km between L2 and Earth results in an instantaneous parallax of $\sim$10''-100'', even for the most distant of detectable trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) in our solar system. Current ground-based strategies for measu…
