A satellite-asteroid mystery and a possible early flux of scattered C-class asteroids

The C spectral class implied by the neutral spectra and low albedo of probably capture-originated satellites orbiting Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars is noted to contradict evidence that class-C objects are native only to the outer half of the asteroid belt. It is presently suggested that Jupiter resonances may have scattered a high flux of C-type objects out of the belt as well as throughout the primordial solar system, at the close of planet accretion, when extended atmospheres could figure in their capture. The largest scattered object fluxes come from the resonance regions primarily populated by C-class objects, lending support to the Pollack et al. (1979) capture scenario invoking extended protoatmospheres.