Centaurs

Centaur research is on the cusp of a transformative period. Centaurs are the population of small, icy solar system bodies on unstable orbits in the giant planet region. These objects spent ~4.5 Gyr in cold storage in the outer solar system's Trans-Neptunian populations before being recently (within the last ~10 Myr) gravitationally perturbed onto giant-planet-crossing orbits. As a population, Centaurs offer us an opportunity to study how thermal and cometary processes affect objects that have been minimally altered since their formation. They are the key to understanding how we can link our many observations of inner solar system comets to formation conditions in the early solar system.

This is the first book dedicated to Centaurs, providing a comprehensive research reference compiled by more than 60 expert collaborating authors as a foundation for this growing field. This book provides a historical overview of how the population of Centaurs was first observed and recognized as a distinct transitional population and reviews the current state of knowledge regarding observations, modeling, laboratory experiments, and mission concepts. This book highlights Centaurs as a key subset of minor bodies that remain significantly understudied as well as the exciting developments expected in the coming decade as the Vera Rubin Observatory's Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), JWST, and other observatories provide new data on more Centaurs. This book provides a number of recommendations for future Centaur studies and exploration that align with the goals of recent decadal studies.