Centaurs

Centaurs are the population of small, icy solar system bodies that are found on unstable orbits in the giant planet region. As a population, Centaurs offer us an opportunity to study how thermal and cometary processes affect pristine objects that have been minimally altered since their formation. They are the key to understanding how we can link our many observations of inner solar system comets to formation conditions in the early solar system. This book will be the first comprehensive research reference covering the Centaurs as a population of objects critical to our understanding of the formation and evolution of icy small bodies in the solar system. The book will discuss theory, observational constraints, laboratory studies, and future space mission concepts all in the context of how Centaurs inform overall studies of icy small bodies and the formation/evolution of our Solar System.

Key Features:

• First comprehensive reference text on Centaurs.

• Fills the large gap in the ecliptic comet reference texts between TNOs and JFCs.

• Centaurs have been included in the two most recent National Academy of Sciences planetary science decadal releases, were the main targets and focus of at least two space missions proposed in the last few years, and have just been added to the target list for NASA's New Frontiers program.

• The study and knowledge of Centaurs will be transformed by new facilities and assets coming online such as JWST and the Vera Rubin Observatory.