The centaurs are a class of icy planetoids that orbit the Sun between Jupiter and Neptune, named after the mythical race of centaurs. A trans-Neptunian object (TNO) is any object in the solar system with all or most of its orbit beyond that of Neptune. ... Artists rendering of the Kuiper Belt and more distant Oort cloud. ... A cubewano is any substantial Kuiper belt object, orbiting beyond about 41 AU and not controlled by resonances with the outer planets. ... In astronomy, a plutino is a Pluto-like object, insofar as it has the same relative orbit as Pluto. ... While a Plutino completes 2 orbits around the Sun in the time it takes Neptune to complete 3 orbits, a Twotino makes 1 orbit around the Sun in the time it takes Neptune to complete 2 orbits. ... A scattered disk object (or scattered disc object or SDO) is a trans-Neptunian object of the Kuiper belt with a very eccentric orbit. ... This image is an artists rendering of the Oort cloud and the Kuiper Belt. ... Planetoid (meaning planet-like) is an old synonym of asteroid. ... In physics, an orbit is the path that an object makes, around another object, whilst under the influence of a source of centripetal force, such as gravity. ... By ancient tradition, the Sun is the light in the heavens whose presence is day and whose absence is night. ... Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 70 kPa Hydrogen ~86% Helium ~14% Methane 0. ... Atmospheric characteristics Surface pressure ≫100 MPa Hydrogen - H2 80% ±3. ... Guido Reni, Abduction of Deianira, 1620-21 In Greek mythology, the centaurs (Greek: Κένταυροι) are a race part human and part horse, with a horses body and a human head and torso. ...

The first centaur to be discovered, 2060 Chiron was found to display a coma upon its approach to perihelion, and is now officially classified as both a comet (95/P Chiron) and an asteroid, although it is far larger than a typical comet and there is some lingering controversy. Other centaurs are being monitored for comet-like activity. 2060 Chiron (IPA: ) is an object in the outer Solar system with an orbit between those of Saturn and Uranus and a radius of 71±5 km [1]. Although it was initially classified as an asteroid, later dispute arose as to whether it was an asteroid or actually a comet. ... The comet Ikeya-Zhang exhibiting a bright, condensed coma (march 2002) In astronomy, the nebulous envelope around the nucleus of a comet is called its coma (from the Latin word for hair). It is formed when the comet passes close to the sun on its highly elliptical orbit; as the... This article is about several astronomical terms (apogee & perigee, aphelion & perihelion, generic equivalents based on apsis, and related but rarer terms. ... An asteroid is a small, solid object in our Solar System, orbiting the Sun. ... Comet Hale-Bopp, showing a white dust tail and blue gas tail (February 1997) A comet is a small body in the solar system that orbits the sun and (at least occasionally) exhibits a coma (or atmosphere) and/or a tail -- both due primarily to the effects of solar radiation...

Centaurs are not in stable orbits and will eventually be removed from the solar system by the giant planets. Dynamical studies of their orbits indicate that centaurs are probably an intermediate orbital state of objects transitioning from the Kuiper Belt to the Jupiter Family of short period comets. Objects may be perturbed from the Kuiper Belt whereupon they become Neptune-crossing and interact gravitationally with that planet. They then become classed as centaurs, but their orbits are chaotic, evolving relatively rapidly as the centaur makes repeated close approaches to one or more of the outer planets. Some centaurs will evolve into Jupiter-crossing orbits whereupon their perihelia may become reduced into the inner solar system and they may be reclassified as active comets in the Jupiter Family if they display cometary activity. Centaurs will thus ultimately collide with the Sun or a planet or else they may be ejected into interstellar space after a close approach to one of the planets, particularly Jupiter. In physics, an orbit is the path that an object makes, around another object, whilst under the influence of a source of centripetal force, such as gravity. ... Artists rendering of the Kuiper Belt and more distant Oort cloud. ... Comet Hale-Bopp, showing a white dust tail and blue gas tail (February 1997) A comet is a small body in the solar system that orbits the sun and (at least occasionally) exhibits a coma (or atmosphere) and/or a tail -- both due primarily to the effects of solar radiation... Artists rendering of the Kuiper Belt and more distant Oort cloud. ... Atmospheric characteristics Surface pressure ≫100 MPa Hydrogen - H2 80% ±3. ... Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 70 kPa Hydrogen ~86% Helium ~14% Methane 0. ...

No centaur has yet been photographed up close by a spacecraft, although there is evidence that Saturn's moon Phoebe, imaged by the Cassini probe in 2004, may be a captured centaur. In addition, the Hubble Space Telescope has gleaned some information about the surface features of 8405 Asbolus. In 2010, the New Horizons spacecraft is expected to perform a distant flyby of a centaur, (83982) 2002 GO₉. For other meanings see Phoebe. ... This is an artists concept of Cassini during the Saturn Orbit Insertion (SOI) maneuver, just after the main engine has begun firing. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Hubble Space Telescope is a telescope in orbit around the Earth. ... 8405 Asbolus is a Centaur, that is, an icy asteroid that orbits between Jupiter and Neptune. ... 2010 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... New Horizons New Horizons is a NASA unmanned spacecraft designed to fly by Pluto and its moon Charon and transmit images and data back to Earth. ...

Well-known centaurs include:

1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Spacewatch is a project at the University of Arizona that specializes in the study of minor planets, and including various types of asteroids and comets. ... 8405 Asbolus is a Centaur, that is, an icy asteroid that orbits between Jupiter and Neptune. ... 1995 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Spacewatch is a project at the University of Arizona that specializes in the study of minor planets, and including various types of asteroids and comets. ... James Vernon Scotti (1960 – ) is an American astronomer. ... 1993 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... Spacewatch is a project at the University of Arizona that specializes in the study of minor planets, and including various types of asteroids and comets. ... David Lincoln Rabinowitz (born 1960) is a researcher at Yale University studying the Kuiper belt and the outer solar system. ... 5145 Pholus (FOE luss) is a Centaur in an eccentric orbit, with a perihelion near the orbit of Saturn and aphelion near the orbit of Neptune. ... 1992 is a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Spacewatch is a project at the University of Arizona that specializes in the study of minor planets, and including various types of asteroids and comets. ... David Lincoln Rabinowitz (born 1960) is a researcher at Yale University studying the Kuiper belt and the outer solar system. ... 2060 Chiron (IPA: ) is an object in the outer Solar system with an orbit between those of Saturn and Uranus and a radius of 71±5 km [1]. Although it was initially classified as an asteroid, later dispute arose as to whether it was an asteroid or actually a comet. ... 1977 was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1977 calendar). ... Charles Thomas Kowal (born November 8, 1940) is an American astronomer. ...

External links

• List of Centaurs and Scattered-Disk Objects

Minor planets, or planetoids are minor bodies of the solar system orbiting the sun that are larger than meteoroids (the largest of which might be taken to be around 10 meters or so across) but smaller than major planets (Mercury having a diameter of about 4880 km). ... Vulcanoids are hypothetical asteroids that may orbit in a dynamically stable zone between 0. ... The asteroid belt is a region of the solar system falling roughly between the planets Mars and Jupiter where the greatest concentration of asteroid orbits can be found. ... Near-Earth objects (NEO) are asteroids, comets and large meteoroids whose orbit intersects Earths orbit and which may therefore pose a collision danger. ... Image of the Trojan asteroids in front of and behind Jupiter along its orbital path. ... A trans-Neptunian object (TNO) is any object in the solar system with all or most of its orbit beyond that of Neptune. ... Damocloids are asteroids such as 5335 Damocles and (16746) 1996 PW that have long-period highly eccentric orbits typical of periodic comets such as 1P/Halley, but without showing a cometary coma or tail. ... Comet Hale-Bopp, showing a white dust tail and blue gas tail (February 1997) A comet is a small body in the solar system that orbits the sun and (at least occasionally) exhibits a coma (or atmosphere) and/or a tail -- both due primarily to the effects of solar radiation... Artists rendering of the Kuiper Belt and more distant Oort cloud. ... This image is an artists rendering of the Oort cloud and the Kuiper Belt. ... An asteroid moon is an asteroid that orbits another asteroid. ... Presentation of the solar system (not to scale). ... This is a list of numbered asteroids, in sequential order. ... This page alphabetically lists the first thousand asteroids to be numbered, which are mostly in the main belt. ...