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C. A. Trujillo, M. E. Brown, A. H. Bouchez (Caltech)
The Kuiper belt objects (KBOs) exhibit substantial broadband optical color variation, from solar colors to the reddest objects in the solar system. We have measured 24 BVR colors of Classical and Scattered KBOs using the Keck LRIS/LRIS-B instrument combination, which allows simulteneous B-V or B-R measurements. We find a statistically significant correlation between inclination and color, with high inclination bodies being systematically bluer than low inclination bodies. This correlation is strengthened by including additional color data from other published works. A weaker correlation between perihelion distance and color is also observed, but this appears to be due to observational bias effects --- bodies with low perihelia tend to have higher inclinations. The Plutinos show no significant correlation between color and any dynamical parameter.
This project was funded by a grant to MEB from NASA Planetary Science.
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