The Near-Centaur Environment: Satellites, Rings, and Debris

TL;DR

This paper reviews the current understanding of satellites, rings, and debris around Centaurs, highlighting recent discoveries like Chariklo's ring system and discussing implications for the formation and evolution of these minor planets.

Contribution

It synthesizes observational techniques and recent findings to advance understanding of Centaur environments and their relation to trans-Neptunian objects.

Findings

Discovery of rings around Chariklo.

Comparison of Centaur attributes with trans-Neptunian objects.

Discussion of formation and evolutionary mechanisms.

Abstract

The unexpected finding of a ring system around the Centaur (10199) Chariklo opened a new window for dynamical studies and posed many questions about the formation and evolutionary mechanisms of Centaurs as well as the relationship to satellites and outbursting activity. As minor planets that cross the orbits of the giant planets, Centaurs have short dynamical lifetimes: Centaurs are supplied from the trans-Neptunian region and some fraction migrates inward to become Jupiter-family comets. Given these dynamical pathways, a comparison of attributes across these classifications provides information to understand the source population(s) and the processes that have affected these minor planets throughout their lifetimes. In this chapter we review the current knowledge of satellites, rings, and debris around Centaur-like bodies, discuss the observational techniques involved, place the information into context with the trans-Neptunian Objects, and consider what the results tell us about the outer solar system. We also examine open questions and future prospects.