Col-OSSOS: Colours of the Outer Solar System Origins Survey

2022

International audience; The surfaces of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) are poorly understood. Other than the large objects which exhibit signatures of various ices, very little has been discerned about the compositions of most TNOs. In recent years, some concrete knowledge about the distribution of surface colours of small TNOs has come to light. It is now generally accepted that small TNOs fall into at least three classes of object based on their surface colours and albedo. TNO surface type is also correlated with dynamical class, with certain types of TNO being found primarily in certain regions of the outer Solar System. This correlation presents the intriguing idea that the surfaces of …