Trans-Neptunian Space and the Post-Pluto Paradigm

Abstract

The Pluto system is an archetype for the multitude of icy dwarf planets and accompanying satellite systems that populate the vast volume of the solar system beyond Neptune. New Horizons' exploration of Pluto and its five moons gave us a glimpse into the range of properties that their kin may host. Furthermore, the surfaces of Pluto and Charon record eons of bombardment by small trans-Neptunian objects, and by treating them as witness plates we can infer a few key properties of the trans-Neptunian population at sizes far below current direct-detection limits. This chapter summarizes what we have learned from the Pluto system about the origins and properties of the trans-Neptunian populations, the processes that have acted upon those members over the age of the solar system, and the processes likely to remain active today. Included in this summary is an inference of the properties of the size distribution of small trans-Neptunian objects and estimates on the fraction of binary systems present at small sizes. Further, this chapter compares the extant properties of the satellites of trans-Neptunian dwarf planets and their implications for the processes of satellite formation and the early evolution of planetesimals in the outer solar system. Finally, this chapter concludes with a discussion of near-term theoretical, observational, and laboratory efforts that can further ground our understanding of the Pluto system and how its properties can guide future exploration of trans-Neptunian space.

Review chapter in "The Pluto System After New Horizons" University of Arizona Press, 2021. https://uapress.arizona.edu/book/the-pluto-system-after-new-horizons

References in corpus (11)

• Origin of the Structure of the Kuiper Belt during a Dynamical Instability in the Orbits of Uranus and Neptune
• The Size Distributions of Asteroid Families in the SDSS Moving Object Catalog 4
• OSSOS VI. Striking Biases in the detection of large semimajor axis Trans-Neptunian Objects
• Amateur telescopes discover a kilometre-sized Kuiper belt object from stellar occultation
• Water Ice on the Satellite of Kuiper Belt Object 2003 EL61
• Binary Survival in the Outer Solar System
• Study of the plutino object (208996) 2003 AZ84 from stellar occultations: size, shape and topographic features
• The CH4 cycles on Pluto over seasonal and astronomical timescales
• The Intrinsic Neptune Trojan Orbit Distribution: Implications for the Primordial Disk and Planet Migration
• Haumea's Shape and Composition
• A Search for Temporal Changes on Pluto and Charon