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2060 Chiron - Colorimetry and cometary behaviorAmbiguities concerning the fit of the 2060 Chiron's visible spectrum to its IR spectrum have been resolved by resort to VRIJHK colorimetry obtained in 1988, which also confirms the neutrality of Chiron's taxonomic class C spectrum and indicates that Chiron has anomalously brightened since 1980-1983. This brightening, and one reported in 1978, are consistent with the hypothesis that Chiron sporadically undergoes weak cometary outbursts similar to those of comet P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1; Chiron is further speculated to be an ice-rich object darkened by C-class carbonaceous soil, and may have been scattered from the Oort cloud in recent solar system history.
Document ID
19900035854
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Hartmann, William K.
(Planetary Science Institute Tucson, AZ, United States)
Tholen, David J.
(Planetary Science Inst. Tucson, AZ, United States)
Meech, Karen J.
(Hawaii, University Honolulu, United States)
Cruikshank, Dale P.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 14, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1990
Publication Information
Publication: Icarus
Volume: 83
ISSN: 0019-1035
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Exploration
Accession Number
90A22909
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NGL-12-001-057
CONTRACT_GRANT: NASW-4266
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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