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Proudfoot B, Ragozzine D. The formation of Haumea and its family via binary merging. Nat Commun 2022; 13:2262. [PMID: 35477701 PMCID: PMC9046388 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29901-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2021] [Accepted: 03/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Dozens of families of asteroids in the asteroid belt have similar orbits and compositions because they formed through a collision. However, the icy debris beyond the orbit of Neptune, called the Kuiper Belt, contains only one known family, the Haumea family. So far, no self-consistent explanation for the formation of the Haumea family can match all geophysical and orbital characteristics of the family without invoking extremely improbable events. Here, we show that the family is adequately explained as the product of a merging binary near the end of Neptune’s orbital migration. The unique orbital signature of a merging binary, which was not found in extensive searches, is effectively erased during the final stages of migration, providing an explanation for all aspects of the Haumea family. By placing the formation of the Haumea family in the broader context of solar system formation, we demonstrate a proof-of-concept model for the formation of Haumea. Formation of the Haumea family, the only collisional group of icy bodies in the Kuiper Belt, is debated. Here, the authors show that Haumea family can be explained as a results of binary merging near the end of Neptune’s orbital migration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Proudfoot
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Brigham Young University, N283 ESC, Provo, UT, 84602, USA.
| | - Darin Ragozzine
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Brigham Young University, N283 ESC, Provo, UT, 84602, USA
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Organic Components of Small Bodies in the Outer Solar System: Some Results of the New Horizons Mission. Life (Basel) 2020; 10:life10080126. [PMID: 32731390 PMCID: PMC7460487 DOI: 10.3390/life10080126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2020] [Revised: 07/18/2020] [Accepted: 07/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The close encounters of the Pluto–Charon system and the Kuiper Belt object Arrokoth (formerly 2014 MU69) by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft in 2015 and 2019, respectively, have given new perspectives on the most distant planetary bodies yet explored. These bodies are key indicators of the composition, chemistry, and dynamics of the outer regions of the Solar System’s nascent environment. Pluto and Charon reveal characteristics of the largest Kuiper Belt objects formed in the dynamically evolving solar nebula inward of ~30 AU, while the much smaller Arrokoth is a largely undisturbed relic of accretion at ~45 AU. The surfaces of Pluto and Charon are covered with volatile and refractory ices and organic components, and have been shaped by geological activity. On Pluto, N2, CO and CH4 are exchanged between the atmosphere and surface as gaseous and condensed phases on diurnal, seasonal and longer timescales, while Charon’s surface is primarily inert H2O ice with an ammoniated component and a polar region colored with a macromolecular organic deposit. Arrokoth is revealed as a fused binary body in a relatively benign space environment where it originated and has remained for the age of the Solar System. Its surface is a mix of CH3OH ice, a red-orange pigment of presumed complex organic material, and possibly other undetected components.
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McKinnon WB, Richardson DC, Marohnic JC, Keane JT, Grundy WM, Hamilton DP, Nesvorný D, Umurhan OM, Lauer TR, Singer KN, Stern SA, Weaver HA, Spencer JR, Buie MW, Moore JM, Kavelaars JJ, Lisse CM, Mao X, Parker AH, Porter SB, Showalter MR, Olkin CB, Cruikshank DP, Elliott HA, Gladstone GR, Parker JW, Verbiscer AJ, Young LA. The solar nebula origin of (486958) Arrokoth, a primordial contact binary in the Kuiper Belt. Science 2020; 367:science.aay6620. [PMID: 32054695 DOI: 10.1126/science.aay6620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2019] [Accepted: 01/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
The New Horizons spacecraft's encounter with the cold classical Kuiper Belt object (486958) Arrokoth (provisional designation 2014 MU69) revealed a contact-binary planetesimal. We investigated how Arrokoth formed and found that it is the product of a gentle, low-speed merger in the early Solar System. Its two lenticular lobes suggest low-velocity accumulation of numerous smaller planetesimals within a gravitationally collapsing cloud of solid particles. The geometric alignment of the lobes indicates that they were a co-orbiting binary that experienced angular momentum loss and subsequent merger, possibly because of dynamical friction and collisions within the cloud or later gas drag. Arrokoth's contact-binary shape was preserved by the benign dynamical and collisional environment of the cold classical Kuiper Belt and therefore informs the accretion processes that operated in the early Solar System.
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Affiliation(s)
- W B McKinnon
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA.
| | - D C Richardson
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - J C Marohnic
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - J T Keane
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - W M Grundy
- Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, AZ 86001, USA.,Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
| | - D P Hamilton
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - D Nesvorný
- Division of Space Science and Engineering, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - O M Umurhan
- NASA Ames Research Center, Space Science Division, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA.,SETI Institute, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
| | - T R Lauer
- National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory, National Science Foundation, Tucson, AZ 85726, USA
| | - K N Singer
- Division of Space Science and Engineering, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - S A Stern
- Division of Space Science and Engineering, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - H A Weaver
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - J R Spencer
- National Research Council of Canada, Victoria, BC V9E 2E7, Canada
| | - M W Buie
- Division of Space Science and Engineering, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - J M Moore
- NASA Ames Research Center, Space Science Division, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
| | - J J Kavelaars
- National Research Council of Canada, Victoria, BC V9E 2E7, Canada
| | - C M Lisse
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
| | - X Mao
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - A H Parker
- Division of Space Science and Engineering, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - S B Porter
- Division of Space Science and Engineering, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | | | - C B Olkin
- Division of Space Science and Engineering, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - D P Cruikshank
- NASA Ames Research Center, Space Science Division, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
| | - H A Elliott
- Division of Space Science and Engineering, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 78238, USA.,Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Texas, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA
| | - G R Gladstone
- Division of Space Science and Engineering, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 78238, USA
| | - J Wm Parker
- Division of Space Science and Engineering, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
| | - A J Verbiscer
- Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA
| | - L A Young
- Division of Space Science and Engineering, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80302, USA
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Rubin M, Engrand C, Snodgrass C, Weissman P, Altwegg K, Busemann H, Morbidelli A, Mumma M. On the Origin and Evolution of the Material in 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. SPACE SCIENCE REVIEWS 2020. [PMID: 32801398 DOI: 10.1007/s11214-019-0625-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Primitive objects like comets hold important information on the material that formed our solar system. Several comets have been visited by spacecraft and many more have been observed through Earth- and space-based telescopes. Still our understanding remains limited. Molecular abundances in comets have been shown to be similar to interstellar ices and thus indicate that common processes and conditions were involved in their formation. The samples returned by the Stardust mission to comet Wild 2 showed that the bulk refractory material was processed by high temperatures in the vicinity of the early sun. The recent Rosetta mission acquired a wealth of new data on the composition of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (hereafter 67P/C-G) and complemented earlier observations of other comets. The isotopic, elemental, and molecular abundances of the volatile, semi-volatile, and refractory phases brought many new insights into the origin and processing of the incorporated material. The emerging picture after Rosetta is that at least part of the volatile material was formed before the solar system and that cometary nuclei agglomerated over a wide range of heliocentric distances, different from where they are found today. Deviations from bulk solar system abundances indicate that the material was not fully homogenized at the location of comet formation, despite the radial mixing implied by the Stardust results. Post-formation evolution of the material might play an important role, which further complicates the picture. This paper discusses these major findings of the Rosetta mission with respect to the origin of the material and puts them in the context of what we know from other comets and solar system objects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Rubin
- Physikalisches Institut, University of Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Cécile Engrand
- CNRS/IN2P3, IJCLab, Université Paris-Saclay, 91405 Orsay Cedex, France
| | - Colin Snodgrass
- Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, EH9 3HJ UK
| | | | - Kathrin Altwegg
- Physikalisches Institut, University of Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Henner Busemann
- Institute of Geochemistry and Petrology, Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | - Michael Mumma
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Rd., Greenbelt, 20771 MD USA
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Kaib NA, Pike R, Lawler S, Kovalik M, Brown C, Alexandersen M, Bannister MT, Gladman BJ, Petit JM. OSSOS XV: PROBING THE DISTANT SOLAR SYSTEM WITH OBSERVED SCATTERING TNOS. THE ASTRONOMICAL JOURNAL 2019; 158:43. [PMID: 31379385 PMCID: PMC6677154 DOI: 10.3847/1538-3881/ab2383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Most known trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) gravitationally scattering off the giant planets have orbital inclinations consistent with an origin from the classical Kuiper belt, but a small fraction of these "scattering TNOs" have inclinations that are far too large (i > 45°) for this origin. These scattering outliers have previously been proposed to be interlopers from the Oort cloud or evidence of an undiscovered planet. Here we test these hypotheses using N-body simulations and the 69 centaurs and scattering TNOs detected in the Outer Solar Systems Origins Survey and its predecessors. We confirm that observed scattering objects cannot solely originate from the classical Kuiper belt, and we show that both the Oort cloud and a distant planet generate observable highly inclined scatterers. Although the number of highly inclined scatterers from the Oort Cloud is ~3 times less than observed, Oort cloud enrichment from the Sun's galactic migration or birth cluster could resolve this. Meanwhile, a distant, low-eccentricity 5 M⊕ planet replicates the observed fraction of highly inclined scatterers, but the overall inclination distribution is more excited than observed. Furthermore, the distant planet generates a longitudinal asymmetry among detached TNOs that is less extreme than often presumed, and its direction reverses across the perihelion range spanned by known TNOs. More complete models that explore the dynamical origins of the planet are necessary to further study these features. With observational biases well-characterized, our work shows that the orbital distribution of detected scattering bodies is a powerful constraint on the unobserved distant solar system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan A Kaib
- HL Dodge Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA
| | - Rosemary Pike
- Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica; 11F of AS/NTU Astronomy-Mathematics Building, No. 1 Roosevelt Rd., Sec. 4, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
| | - Samantha Lawler
- Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Centre, National Research Council of Canada, 5071 West Saanich Rd, Victoria, British Columbia V9E 2E7, Canada
| | - Maya Kovalik
- Computer Science, Engineering, and Physics Department, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, Belton, TX 76513, USA
| | - Christopher Brown
- HL Dodge Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA
| | - Mike Alexandersen
- Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica; 11F of AS/NTU Astronomy-Mathematics Building, No. 1 Roosevelt Rd., Sec. 4, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
| | - Michele T Bannister
- Astrophysics Research Centre, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - Brett J Gladman
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1, Canada
| | - Jean-Marc Petit
- Institut UTINAM UMR6213, CNRS, Univ. Bourgogne Franche-Comt, OSU Theta F-25000 Besançon, France
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