Trans-Neptunian Objects and Comets (eBook)

David Jewitt is professor at the University of Hawaii and joint discoverer (with Jane Luu) of the first trans-Neptunian object, 1992 QB1. Alessandro Morbidelli is researcher at Nice Observatory and winner of the Urey Prize of the Division of Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society in 2000. Heike Rauer is professor at the Free University of Berlin and staff scientist at the DLR institute for Planetary Research. She is joint discoverer of the sodium tail of comet Hale-Bopp.

Preface 5
Contents 6
List of Previous Saas-Fee Advanced Courses 9
Kuiper Belt and Comets: An Observational Perspective 11
1 Preamble 11
2 The Modern Solar System 15
3 Cometary Nuclei 36
4 Kuiper Belt 57
References 82
Comets and Their Reservoirs: Current Dynamics and Primordial Evolution 89
1 The Trans-Neptunian Population 90
2 The Dynamics of Comets 111
3 The Formation of the Oort Cloud 127
4 The Primordial Sculpting of the Kuiper Belt 137
5 Origin of the Late Heavy Bombardment of the Terrestrial Planets 149
6 Building a Coherent View of Solar System History: Perspectives for Future Work 161
References 164
Comets 174
1 Introduction 174
2 Sublimation Processes 177
3 Coma and Tail Dynamics 191
4 Emission Excitation in the Gas Coma 217
5 Chemical Processes in the Coma 225
6 Gas Production Rates 233
7 Dust Particles 242
8 Outlook 249
References 251
Acknowledgments 264
Kuiper Belt and Comets: An Observational Perspective 264
Comets and Their Reservoirs: Current Dynamics and Primordial Evolution 264
Comets 265
Index 266