| TNOs and similar bodies |
|---|
*Trans-Neptunian dwarf planets are "plutoids"
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A Cis-Neptunian object is, literally, any astronomical body found within the orbit of Neptune.[1] However, the term is typically used for objects other than Trans-Neptunian objects, the planets, their moons, and traditional asteroids: that is, all sub-planetary bodies orbiting the Sun at or within the distance of Neptune, but outside the orbit of Jupiter. This includes the icy asteroids known as centaurs[2] and the Neptune Trojans.[3]
Centaurs orbit the Sun between Jupiter and Neptune, often crossing the orbits of the large gas giant planets. There is an emerging sense[2] that the centaurs may simply be objects similar to scattered disc objects that were knocked inwards from the Kuiper belt rather than outwards, making them cis-Neptunian rather than trans-Neptunian scattered-disc objects.
Neptune trojans, named by analogy to the Trojan asteroids of Jupiter, are a stable reservoir of small bodies sharing Neptune's orbit.[4] Known Neptune trojans lie in an elongated region around the L4 Lagrangian point 60° ahead of Neptune.
Notes
- ^ These are 2001 QR322, 2004 UP10, 2005 TN53, 2005 TO74, 2006 RJ103 and 2007 VL305.[3]
References
- ^ Remo, John L. (2007). Classifying Solid Planetary Bodies. New trends in astrodynamics and applications III. AIP Conference Proceedings, Volume 886, pp. 284-302.
- ^ a b J Horner, NW Evans, ME Bailey, DJ Asher (2003). "The Populations of Comet-like Bodies in the Solar System". http://star.arm.ac.uk/preprints/396.pdf. Retrieved on 2007-06-29.
- ^ a b "List Of Neptune Trojans". Minor Planet Center. http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/lists/NeptuneTrojans.html. Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
- ^ Sheppard, Scott S.; Trujillo, Chadwick A. (June 2006). "A Thick Cloud of Neptune Trojans and Their Colors" (PDF). Science 313 (5786): 511–514. doi:. PMID 16778021. http://www.dtm.ciw.edu/sheppard/pub/Sheppard06NepTroj.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-02-26.
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