Image Details
Caption: Figure 6.
Regolith mass in orbit vs. time for a landslide-like ejection from the long axis (left panel) and short axis (right panel) around Chariklo. Test particle regoliths are marked by the dotted lines and massive particle regoliths by the solid lines. Regolith particles are lost very quickly in the low and high velocity ranges (not shown for clarity), but stay in orbit for an extended period of time for some velocities. Massive particle interactions and collisions help counter the angular momentum transfer from the ellipsoidal Centaur and help keep regolith particles in orbit over the course of our simulations. Simulations are parameterized by the initial vejection.
© 2026. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.