The Populations of Comet-Like Bodies in the Solar system

Astrophysics, abstract
astro-ph/0304319

From: N.W. Evans <w.evans1@physics.oxford.ac.uk>

Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2003 22:10:51 GMT   (154kb)

Authors:
J. Horner (Oxford),
N.W. Evans (Cambridge),
M.E. Bailey (Armagh),
D.J. Asher (Armagh)

Comments: MNRAS, in press, 11 pages, 6 figures (1 available as postscript, 5 as
gif). Higher resolution figures available at
this http URL

A new classification scheme is introduced for comet-like bodies in the Solar
system. It covers the traditional comets as well as the Centaurs and
Edgeworth-Kuiper belt objects. At low inclinations, close encounters with
planets often result in near-constant perihelion or aphelion distances, or in
perihelion-aphelion interchanges, so the minor bodies can be labelled according
to the planets predominantly controlling them at perihelion and aphelion. For
example, a JN object has a perihelion under the control of Jupiter and aphelion
under the control of Neptune, and so on. This provides 20 dynamically distinct
categories of outer Solar system objects in the Jovian and trans-Jovian
regions. The Tisserand parameter with respect to the planet controlling
perihelion is also often roughly constant under orbital evolution. So, each
category can be further sub-divided according to the Tisserand parameter. The
dynamical evolution of comets, however, is dominated not by the planets nearest
at perihelion or aphelion, but by the more massive Jupiter. The comets are
separated into four categories — Encke-type, short-period, intermediate and
long-period — according to aphelion distance. The Tisserand parameter
categories now roughly correspond to the well-known Jupiter-family comets,
transition-types and Halley-types. In this way, the nomenclature for the
Centaurs and Edgeworth-Kuiper belt objects is based on, and consistent with,
that for comets.

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