Whatever one's stance on the "demotion" of Pluto from planet to dwarf planet, the controversy has helped to make the public better aware that the solar system is populated with a lot more than the planets, their satellites, and the occasional comet or meteorite. The solar system is scattered with many smaller objects large enough to be tracked and numbered and sometimes named. Each category of object has its particular properties and stories to tell. Molecules have been identified on a number of these objects, and this bibliography has been expanded accordingly. This is intended to be a representative but not exhaustive listing of planetoids with known molecules. For a descriptions of what's out there, see the Wikipedia articles on minor planets and Trans-Neptunian Objects. For more technical information, visit the Minor Planet Center. For a reasoned take on the Pluto controversy, I suggest the short article by David Jewitt and Jane Luu that can be accessed here. |
OBJECT | MOLECULES
(click for citations) | DISCOVERY CITATION | NEWS LINK |
ASTEROIDS & DWARF PLANETS | |||
1 Ceres
![]() | H2O sodium & ammonium salts | No citation: Ceres was discovered by Giuseppe Piazzi on 1 January 1801. |
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24 Themis
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H2O organics ref1 ref2 |
Elemente und Ephemeride der Themis
Astron. Nachr. 36, 341 (1853) (Themis was discovered by Annibale de Gasparis.) |
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CENTAURS | |||
Pholus
![]() (5145) | CH3OH H2O organics olivine |
1992 AD
J. V. Scotti, D. L. Rabinowitz, and 11 co-workers, IAU Circ. 5434 (1992) | |
Chariklo
![]() (10199) | H2O |
1997 CU26
J. V. Scotti et al. (?) | |
SCATTERED DISK OBJECTS | |||
Typhon
![]() (42355) | H2O silicates |
Discovery of a binary Centaur
K. S. Noll, H. F. Levinson, W. M. Grundy, and D. C. Stephens, Icarus 184:611-618 (2006) | |
TRANS-NEPTUNIAN OBJECTS: KUIPER BELT OBJECTS | |||
Pluto
![]() (134340) |
CH4
N2
CO
HCN
HNC |
Bulletin Number 421 - Preliminary results and ephemeris of the Lowell Observatory Object
E. C. Bower and F. L. Whipple, Lick Obs Bull 14:189-191 (1930) |
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Quaoar
![]() (50000) |
H2O
CH4
C2H6 N2? |
Direct Measurement of the Size of the Large Kuiper Belt Object (50000) Quaoar
M. E. Brown and C. A. Trujillo, AJ 127:2413-2417 (2004) |
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Orcus
![]() (90482) | H2O unk carbonaceous |
MPEC 2009-E53
M. E. Brown, D. L. Rabinowitz, C. A. Trujillo, R. Matson, M. Meyer, and R. Stoss |
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Eris
![]() (136199) | CH4 H2O N2 unk carbonaceous |
Discovery of a Planetary-sized Object in the Scattered Kuiper Belt
M. E. Brown, C. A. Trujillo, and D. L. Rabinowitz, ApJ 635:L97-L100 (2005) | |
Makemake
![]() (136472) | CH4 C2H6 |
MPEC 2005-O42
M. E. Brown, C. A. Trujillo, and D. L. Rabinowitz |
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Haumea
![]() (136108) | H2O |
MPEC 2010-H75
M. E. Brown, C. A. Trujillo, and D. L. Rabinowitz |
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1999 TC36
![]() (47171) | H2O tholins |
MPEC 1999-Y19
E. P. Rubenstein and L.-G. Strolger |
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2002 VE95
![]() (55638) | H2O CH3OH tholins |
MPEC 2002-X53
R. Stross, E. Meyer, E. F. Helin, S. Pravdo, K. J. Lawrence, D. L. Rabinowitz, R. Maeda, J. Africano, M. Hicks, R. Thicksten, and B. G. Marsden | |
2007 OR10
![]() (225088) | H2O CH4? |
MPEC 2009-A42
M. E. Schwamb, M. E. Brown, and D. Rabinowitz |
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Varuna
![]() (20000) | H2O |
20000 Varuna (2000 WR106)
M. E. Brown, C. Trujillo, and D. Rabinowitz. ApJ 617:645-649 (2004). | |
Sedna
![]() (90377) |
H2O
CH4
N2
C2H6 tholins serpentine |
Discovery of a Candidate Inner Oort Cloud Planetoid
M. E. Brown, C. Trujillo, and D. Rabinowitz. ApJ 617:645-649 (2004). |
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