NASA NTRS · 19900035854
2060 Chiron - Colorimetry and cometary behavior
Abstract
Ambiguities concerning the fit of the 2060 Chiron's visible spectrum to its IR spectrum have been resolved by resort to VRIJHK colorimetry obtained in 1988, which also confirms the neutrality of Chiron's taxonomic class C spectrum and indicates that Chiron has anomalously brightened since 1980-1983. This brightening, and one reported in 1978, are consistent with the hypothesis that Chiron sporadically undergoes weak cometary outbursts similar to those of comet P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1; Chiron is further speculated to be an ice-rich object darkened by C-class carbonaceous soil, and may have been scattered from the Oort cloud in recent solar system history.
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Hartmann, William K., Tholen, David J., Meech, Karen J., Cruikshank, Dale P.. 1990-01-01. 2060 Chiron - Colorimetry and cometary behavior. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19900035854
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