A Monte Carlo estimate of the fraction of comets developing into sizeable asteroidal bodies

We present results of Monte Carlo simulations of orbital evolution showing that assuming a steady state there are roughly 50 extinct comets per active one in the Mars-crossing Jupiter family. The large number of extinct comets thus expected compared with the absence of observed apollo or Amor asteroids with aphelion distances greater than 4.2 AU indicates that less than five percent of the extinct comets survive as sizeable asteroidal bodies.Paper presented at the European Workshop on Planetary Sciences, organised by the Laboratorio di Astrofisica Spaziale di Frascati, and held between April 23–27, 1979, at the Accademia Nazionale del Lincei in Rome, Italy.