Irregular Satellites in the Context of Planet Formation |
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Authors: | David Jewitt Scott Sheppard |
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Institution: | (1) Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI, 96822 |
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Abstract: | All four giant planets in the solar system possess irregular satellites, characterized by large, highly eccentric and/or highly
inclined orbits. These bodies were likely captured from heliocentric orbit, probably in association with planet formation
itself. Enabled by the use of large-format digital imagers on ground-based telescopes, new observational work has dramatically
increased the known populations of irregular satellites, with 74 discoveries in the last few years. A new perspective on the
irregular satellite systems is beginning to emerge.We find that the number of irregular satellites measured to a given diameter
is approximately constant from planet to planet. This is surprising, given the radically different formation scenarios envisioned
for the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn compared to the (much less massive and compositionally distinct) ice giants Uranus and
Neptune. We discuss the new results on the irregular satellites and show how these objects might be used to discriminate amongst
models of giant planet formation. |
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Keywords: | satellites Kuiper Belt gas giant ice giant planet formation |
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