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Detailed Reference Information |
Weissman, P.R., Dobrovolskis, A.R. and Stern, S.A. (1989). Constraints on impact rates in the Pluto-Charon system and the population of the Kuiper Comet Belt. Geophysical Research Letters 16: doi: 10.1029/89GL02828. issn: 0094-8276. |
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Impact rates in the Pluto-Charon system are dominated by comets from the proposed Kuper Belt, 30 to 50 AU from the Sun. Such collisions excite the eccentricity of Charon's orbit, which then decays due to tidal dissipation. Charon's eccentricity approaches a quasi-steady state, which can be used to constrain the total number and mass of comets in the Kuiper Belt. Unfortunately, the current upper limit on Charon's orbital eccentricity must be reduced by more than a factor of ten before useful constraints can be set. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1989 |
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Abstract |
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Keywords
Planetology, Fluid Planets, Physical properties of materials, Planetology, Comets and Small Bodies, Origin and evolution |
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Publisher
American Geophysical Union 2000 Florida Avenue N.W. Washington, D.C. 20009-1277 USA 1-202-462-6900 1-202-328-0566 service@agu.org |
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