Open AccessThe absolute magnitude distribution of trans‐Neptunian objects
Author(s) -
Hughes David W.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
monthly notices of the royal astronomical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.058
H-Index - 383
eISSN - 1365-2966
pISSN - 0035-8711
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-8711.2003.07048.x
Subject(s) - physics , trans neptunian object , absolute magnitude , magnitude (astronomy) , astrophysics , orbital period , distribution (mathematics) , range (aeronautics) , astronomy , apparent magnitude , orbit (dynamics) , solar system , stars , mathematical analysis , mathematics , materials science , engineering , composite material , aerospace engineering
It is shown that the known trans‐Neptunian objects (TNOs) have an absolute magnitude distribution index that increases as a function of orbital perihelion distance. In no perihelion range is the TNO index the same as that found for known short‐period comets. However, the fact that the median diameters of the known members of these two populations (220 and 2.9 km respectively) differ by a factor of about 75 means that very small TNOs and short‐period comets might still be related.