Water Ice in 2060 Chiron and Its Implications for Centaurs and Kuiper Belt Objects.
@article{Luu2000WaterII, title={Water Ice in 2060 Chiron and Its Implications for Centaurs and Kuiper Belt Objects.}, author={Luu and Jewitt and Trujillo}, journal={The Astrophysical journal}, year={2000}, volume={531 2}, pages={ L151-L154 } }
We report the detection of water ice in the Centaur 2060 Chiron, based on near-infrared spectra (1.0-2.5 µm) taken with the 3.8 m United Kingdom Infrared Telescope and the 10 m Keck Telescope. The appearance of this ice is correlated with the recent decline in Chiron's cometary activity: the decrease in the coma cross section allows previously hidden solid-state surface features to be seen. We predict that water ice is ubiquitous among Centaurs and Kuiper Belt objects, but its surface coverage…
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