event
Monday 02 Mar 2015: Seminar: The surfaces of Kuiper belt objects (MON 4pm)
Dr Pedro Lacerda - Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS)
Physics, 4th floor 16:00-17:00
The Kuiper belt holds a large number of icy planetesimals from the time when the planets formed. Long term dynamical stability and low ambient temperatures mean that the Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) retain a number of physical and chemical properties that reflect their birth environment. Hence, the study of KBOs offers a unique window onto the formative epoch of our Solar System. I will broad summarise the main known properties of the Kuiper belt and then focus on a recent result dealing with the surface properties of KBOs.