The orbital entrance gate that brings all the comets into our yard

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In the outer solar system, between the orbits of Jupiter and Neptune, is a group of small bodies known as centaurs. Just as the mythical centaurs are hybrids of horse and man, these centaurs have hybrid properties between comets and asteroids.

Centaurs are thought to have started life as icy bodies in the Kuiper Belt, well beyond the orbit of Neptune. As small gravitational disturbances shift their orbit, they would shift to the Sun. The tug of gravity from the outer planets would then throw them into an orbit of centaurs.

But centaur's orbits are relatively unstable. Most centaurs have orbits that pass through the orbits of one or more planets of the outer solar system, and it is only a matter of time before they get stuck. Approach enough of a planet to make their orbits move dramatically. In the course of cosmic time, they would tend to be projected towards the inner solar system, becoming what are called comets of the Jupiter family (JFC).

For this reason, the way Centaurs are restored is a bit mysterious. While some are driven out of the Centaur region, new icy bodies must join their ranks. To study the dynamics of these bodies, a team recently modeled the orbits of the centaur-like bodies. They found a dynamic bridge where objects from the Kuiper Belt enter the Centaur region and are then projected into the inner solar system. This dynamic centaur region is close to the 29P / Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 (SW1) orbit, which is a strangely active centaur.

The study of the orbit of SW1 was the original goal of the team. What they discovered, is that rather than being a strange member of the centaurs, it is a body being transitioned to the inner solar system. In time, he will join the comets of the Jupiter family.

Reference: Sarid, Gal et al. "29P / Schwassmann-Wachmann 1, A centaur at the door of the comets of the Jupiter family." preprint arXiv arXiv: 1908.04185 (2019).

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In the outer solar system, between the orbits of Jupiter and Neptune, is a group of small bodies known as centaurs. Just as the mythical centaurs are hybrids of horse and man, these centaurs have hybrid properties between comets and asteroids.

Centaurs are thought to have started life as icy bodies in the Kuiper Belt, well beyond the orbit of Neptune. As small gravitational disturbances shift their orbit, they would shift to the Sun. The tug of gravity from the outer planets would then throw them into an orbit of centaurs.

But centaur's orbits are relatively unstable. Most centaurs have orbits that pass through the orbits of one or more planets of the outer solar system, and it is only a matter of time before they get stuck. Approach enough of a planet to make their orbits move dramatically. In the course of cosmic time, they would tend to be projected towards the inner solar system, becoming what are called comets of the Jupiter family (JFC).

For this reason, the way Centaurs are restored is a bit mysterious. While some are driven out of the Centaur region, new icy bodies must join their ranks. To study the dynamics of these bodies, a team recently modeled body orbits resembling centaurs. They found a dynamic bridge where objects from the Kuiper Belt enter the Centaur region and are then projected into the inner solar system. This dynamic centaur region is close to the 29P / Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 (SW1) orbit, which is a strangely active centaur.

The study of the orbit of SW1 was the original goal of the team. What they discovered, is that rather than being a strange member of the centaurs, it is a body being transitioned to the inner solar system. In time, he will join the comets of the Jupiter family.

Reference: Sarid, Gal et al. "29P / Schwassmann-Wachmann 1, A centaur at the door of the comets of the Jupiter family." preprint arXiv arXiv: 1908.04185 (2019).