2007/11/30 by Keith S. Noll, Keith Noll, W. M. Grundy +4 · 9 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astro and Planetary Science #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2007.10.022
32 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables in press for Icarus volume 194 Note added in proof and reference updates in this corrected version
openalex publication_date 2008/01/30 · arxiv created 2008/03/10 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We have searched 101 Classical transneptunian objects for companions with the Hubble Space Telescope. Of these, at least 21 are binary. The heliocentric inclinations of the objects we observed range from 0.6-34 degrees. We find a very strong anticorrelation of binaries with inclination. Of the 58 targets that have inclinations of less than 5.5 degrees, 17 are binary, a binary fraction of 29 +7/-6%. All 17 are similar-brightness systems. On the contrary, only 4 of the 42 objects with inclinations greater than 5.5 degrees have satellites and only 1 of these is a similar-brightness binary. This striking dichotomy appears to agree with other indications that the low eccentricity, non-resonant Classical transneptunian objects include two overlapping populations with significantly different physical properties and dynamical histories.