Thermal evolution of trans‐Neptunian objects,icy satellites,and minor icy planets in the early solar system

Numerical simulations are performed to understand the early thermal evolution and planetary scale differentiation of icy bodies with the radii in the range of 100–2500 km. These icy bodies include trans‐Neptunian objects, minor icy planets (e.g., Ceres, Pluto); the icy satellites of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune; and probably the icy‐rocky cores of these planets. The decay energy of the radionuclides, ²⁶Al, ⁶⁰Fe, ⁴⁰K, ²³⁵U, ²³⁸U, and ²³²Th, along with the impact‐induced heating during the accretion of icy bodies were taken into account to thermally evolve these planetary bodies. The simulations were performed for a wide range of initial ice and rock (dust) mass fractions of the icy bodies. Three distinct accretion scenarios were used. The sinking of the rock mass fraction in primitive water oceans produced by the substantial melting of ice could lead to planetary scale differentiation with the formation of a rocky core that is surrounded by a water ocean and an icy crust within the initial tens of millions of years of the solar system in case the planetary bodies accreted prior to the substantial decay of ²⁶Al. However, over the course of billions of years, the heat produced due to ⁴⁰K, ²³⁵U, ²³⁸U, and ²³²Th could have raised the temperature of the interiors of the icy bodies to the melting point of iron and silicates, thereby leading to the formation of an iron core. Our simulations indicate the presence of an iron core even at the center of icy bodies with radii ≥500 km for different ice mass fractions.     

Observations of minor planets

The PDS 2020 GM-microdensitometer of the University of Münster has been used to determine 115 positions of minor planets observed with the astrograph and the double refractor of Hoher List Observatory.     

A fundamental system based on observations of minor planets

Astronomers adopt a single system of star positions and motions for reduction of other observations. Relative observations of faint minor planets may make a significant contribution to the evaluation of systematic errors in this Fundamental System, and provide means of deriving a position system in ecliptic coordinates. New techniques, such as observations with the Space Telescope, must be evaluated for possible incorporation into a revision of the Fundamental System.A historical summary of the application of minor planet observations to the formation of astronomical coordinate systems is given. Then a project to investigate the systematic accuracy of the Fundamental System is outlined. Of the four observation types considered, crossing point observations provide a unique stabilizing influence on any coordinate system incorporating them. Finally, some sources of systematic error and some methods of their treatment are discussed.Presented at the Symposium Star Catalogues, Positional Astronomy and Celestial Mechanics, held in honor of Paul Herget at the U.S. Naval Observatory, Washington, November 30, 1978.     

Revised orbital elements of minor planets

Revised orbital elements of minor planets 702 Alauda, 946 Poesia, 2395 Aho, 3051 Nantong, 3086 Kalbaugh and 4218 Demottoni are given.     

CCD photometry of 23 minor planets

We present CCD photometric observations of 23 main-belt asteroids, of which 8 have never been observed before; thus, the data of these objects are the first in the literature. The majority showed well-detectable light variations, exceeding 0^m1. We have determined synodic periods for 756 Lilliana (936), 1270 Datura (34), 1400 Tirela (1336), 1503 Kuopio (998), 3682 Welther (359), 7505 Furushu (414) and 11436 1969 QR (123), while uncertain period estimates were possible for 469 Argentina (123), 546 Herodias (104) and 1026 Ingrid (53). The shape of the lightcurves of 3682 Welther changed on a short time-scale and showed dimmings that might be attributed to eclipses in a binary system. For the remaining objects, only lower limits of the periods and amplitudes were concluded.     

Deuterium in the early solar system

An attempt is made to construct a self-consistent picture of the deuterium abundance in the early Solar System based on the assumption of chemical equilibrium in the solar nebula. A recent determination of the $\text{D}\text{H}$ ratio for the atmosphere of Jupiter is consistent with a previous estimate of the $\text{D}\text{H}$ ratio for the proto-Sun. The high (> 1.5 × 10^?4) $\text{D}\text{H}$ ratios determined from analyses of carbonaceous meteorites imply an equilibrium temperature < 270°K, in marked disagreement with the equilibrium temperature determined for the same material by oxygen isotope cosmothermometry.     

Life-bearing primordial planets in the solar vicinity

The space density of life-bearing primordial planets in the solar vicinity may amount to ～8.1×10⁴?pc^?3 giving total of ～10¹⁴ throughout the entire galactic disk. Initially dominated by H₂ these planets are stripped of their hydrogen mantles when the ambient radiation temperature exceeds 3?K as they fall from the galactic halo to the mid-plane of the galaxy. The zodiacal cloud in our solar system encounters a primordial planet once every 26 My (on our estimate) thus intercepting an average mass of 10³ tonnes of interplanetary dust on each occasion. If the dust included microbial material that originated on Earth and was scattered via impacts or cometary sublimation into the zodiacal cloud, this process offers a way by which evolved genes from Earth life could become dispersed through the galaxy.     

The search for other planets: Clues from the solar system

Studies of element abundances and values of D/H in the atmospheres of the outer planets and Titan support a two-step model for the formation of these bodies. This model suggests that the dimensions of Uranus provide a good index for the sensitivity required to detect planets around other stars. The high proportion of N₂ on the surfaces of Pluto and Triton indicates that this gas was the dominant reservoir of nitrogen in the early solar nebula. It should also be abundant on pristine comets. There is evidence that some of these comets may well have brought a large store of volatiles to the inner planets, while others were falling into the sun. In other systems, icy planetesimals falling into stars should reveal themselves through high values of D/H.Paper presented at the Conference on Planetary Systems: Formation, Evolution, and Detection held 7–10 December, 1992 at CalTech, Pasadena, California, U.S.A.     

Group method of calculating the perturbations of minor planets

Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy - An expansion of the disturbing functionR is suggested for the special case when the orbits of a group of minor planets have approximately equal major...     

Observations of minor planets with the very large array

The weak thermal emission from the largest minor planets can be detected and measured at all points around their orbits at microwave frequencies using the Very Large Array (VLA). Position determinations of astrometric quality have been obtained, and flux measurements have provided size estimates. When enough precise positional observations have been accumulated, the orbits of the minor planets and the Earth can be determined. This will allow the equinox to be located within the radio reference frame, providing a truly fundamental coordinate system for radio source positions. It will also provide a means of relating the optical and radio (quasar) coordinate systems.The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is operated by Associated Universities, Incorporated, under contract with the National Science Foundation.     

Residuals for the observations of the 62 selected minor planets

This paper reports results of the improvement of orbital elements of the 62 minor planets included in the Hipparcos mission. The astrometric observations supplied by the Minor Planet Center and the meridian circles at La Palma and Bordeaux observatories were used by the author. The accuracy reached (RMS O-C) for each minor planet and for La Palma and Bordeaux observations are presented.     

On the velocity distribution of the minor planets and stars

The velocity distribution of the minor planets is studied in comparison with that of the stars in the neighbourhood of the Sun. The phase configuration at a given instant has been obtained and the distribution has been studied for different ecliptic sectors. The velocity distribution of the minor planets is similar to that of the stars and differs little form the trivariate normal distribution. The vertex presents a deviation from the direction of the Sun which is positive or negative for different sectors. This vertex deviation is a consequence of the orbit orientations. The relaxation time, deduced from the encounters between the minor planets, is of the order of 10¹⁴ to 10¹⁶ yr.     

Possible associations of daytime fireballs and minor planets

Chinese and Japanese historical records of daytime fireballs, and world-wide daytime meteorite falls in the catalogue have been investigated. Among them, there are 253 and 104 records of great daytime fireballs in China and in Japan respectively, and 506 meteorite falls in the daytime are recorded in the Catalogue of Meteorites (1985). The same trends of seasonal and daily variations in the flux of daytime fireballs are clearly seen in both Chinese and Japanese records, and then the distributions of the daytime fireballs seem to suggest the association with meteorites and near-earth minor planets rather than with comets. Possible relations with minor planets, such as (1566) Icarus, (3671) Dionysius, (4450) Pan, (4486) Mithra and others are suggested.     

Possible associations of daytime fireballs and minor planets

Chinese and Japanese historical records of daytime fireballs, and world-wide daytime meteorite falls in the catalogue have been investigated. Among them, there are 253 and 104 records of great daytime fireballs in China and in Japan respectively, and 506 meteorite falls in the daytime are recorded in the Catalogue of Meteorites (1985).The same trends of seasonal and daily variations in the flux of daytime fireballs are clearly seen in both Chinese and Japanese records, and then the distributions of the daytime fireballs seem to suggest the association with meteorites and near-earth minor planets rather than with comets.Possible relations with minor planets, such as (1566) Icarus, (3671) Dionysius, (4450) Pan, (4486) Mithra and others are suggested.     

Radio observations of some minor and major planets

Brightness temperatures have been measured at 2.85 cm wavelength for Ceres, Pallas, Mars, Uranus, and Neptune. The brightness temperature of Ceres seems to be a little lower than would be expected on the basis of simple theory.     

Observations of minor planets at dresden lohrmann observatory

Observed positions of minor planets from 1977 and 1978 at the Zeiss-Sonnefeld astrograph 300/1500 of Lohrmann Observatory at Dresden-Gönnsdorf are given.     

Interaction of the solar wind with the outer planets

The hypersonic analog for the interaction of the solar wind with Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto is used to provide estimates of shock shapes and locations as well as average magnetosheath and/or ionosheath properties for these planets. Several representative spacecraft flyby trajectories (designed for outer-planet Grand Tour simulations) are superimposed upon a series of figures in order to provide estimates of potential plasma and field parameters which may be encountered. Consideration is given first to the possibility that several of these planets have intrinsic magnetic fields and, secondly, to the interaction of the solar wind directly on the ionosphere should there actually be no intrinsic field. Saturn and Pluto are chosen as examples of this latter case.     

Thermal consequences of impacts in the early solar system

Collisions between planetesimals were common during the first approximately 100 Myr of solar system formation. Such collisions have been suggested to be responsible for thermal processing seen in some meteorites, although previous work has demonstrated that such events could not be responsible for the global thermal evolution of a meteorite parent body. At this early epoch in solar system history, however, meteorite parent bodies would have been heated or retained heat from the decay of short‐lived radionuclides, most notably ²⁶Al. The postimpact structure of an impacted body is shown here to be a strong function of the internal temperature structure of the target body. We calculate the temperature–time history of all mass in these impacted bodies, accounting for their heating in an onion‐shell–structured body prior to the collision event and then allowing for the postimpact thermal evolution as heat from both radioactivities and the impact is diffused through the resulting planetesimal and radiated to space. The thermal histories of materials in these bodies are compared with what they would be in an unimpacted, onion‐shell body. We find that while collisions in the early solar system led to the heating of a target body around the point of impact, a greater amount of mass had its cooling rates accelerated as a result of the flow of heated materials to the surface during the cratering event.     

Current state and development of the minor planets research in Nikolaev Astronomical Observatory

Regular positional observations of minor planets in Nikolaev Astronomical Observatory have been begun with installation of photographic Zone Astrograph in 1961. The observations of 19 selected minor planets up to 12 magnitude were obtained for 36 years. Accuracy of the photographic positions of minor planets is rather high, 0.15^′′-0.19^′′. These positions were used for improvement of the system of fundamental catalogue and determination of its orientation to the dynamical reference frame. CCD observations of asteroids have been begun at the Zone Astrograph in 2000. There was obtained about the same accuracy, as in photographic observations. During 2004-2006 NAO participated in international collaboration with TUBITAK National Observatory (Turkey) and Kazan State University (Russia) in positional and photometric observations of small Solar system bodies. About four thousands of CCD images for 58 asteroids of 11-18 mag were obtained with internal and external errors of 30-80 mas of a single determination. Some of these observations, as well as the observations of the Minor Planet Center, are being used for the current asteroid mass determinations in Nikolaev observatory. Available results allow us to consider the Russian-Turkish telescope RTT150 as a good candidate for ground-based astrometry support of the future space mission GAIA, moreover in the period before GAIA.