Astrochemistry

Volatiles In Small Bodies

By Keith Cowing
Press Release
July 24, 2025
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Volatiles In Small Bodies
Condensation curves serve as a tool for prediction building block composition as a function of conditions in the PSN. Here they are compared to the predicted cooling curve of the PSN where the giant planets may have formed. (left) Equilibrium curves for pure condensates (dashed lines) where species are in the gas phase above the curves. (right) Scenario for clathrate formation including a combination of condensate, hydrate (NH3–H2O), and clathrate formation (X–5.75H2Oor X–5.67H2O; solid lines), along with crystallization of pure CO2 condensate (dotted line). (Mousis et al. 2020) reprinted with permission © Springer. — astro-ph.EP

Small bodies are the remnant building blocks from the time when the planets formed and migrated to their current positions.

Their volatile composition and relative abundances serve as time capsules for the formation conditions in the protosolar nebula. By constraining the volatile composition of Centaurs, we can fill in important gaps in understanding the history of our solar system.

We review here the state of knowledge for volatiles in small bodies, processes that influence volatile composition and activity in small bodies, and future capabilities that can be leveraged to advance our understanding of volatiles in Centaurs.

Kathleen Mandt, Oleksandra Ivanova, Olga Harrington Pinto, Nathan X. Roth, Darryl Z. Seligman

Comments: Submitted version of excerpt (Chapter 6) from the book Centaurs. IOP Publishing Ltd. May 2025. this https URL
Subjects: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP)
Cite as: arXiv:2507.13116 [astro-ph.EP] (or arXiv:2507.13116v1 [astro-ph.EP] for this version)

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2507.13116
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Submission history
From: Darryl Seligman
[v1] Thu, 17 Jul 2025 13:32:16 UTC (2,537 KB)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.13116
Astrobiology, Astrochemistry,

Keith Cowing

Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Station Payload manager/space biologist, Away Teams, Journalist, Lapsed climber, Synaesthete, Na’Vi-Jedi-Freman-Buddhist-mix, ASL, Devon Island and Everest Base Camp veteran, (he/him) 🖖🏻

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