Exploration of Small Solar System Bodies

Abstract

So far we have learnt a lot about the different types of Small Solar System Bodies and dwarf planets. Yet, the question remains. How do we get all the information from these small, distant bodies? These small objects are very difficult to observe. Using optical telescopes, even the largest ones we currently have on Earth, it is hardly possible to see something else than a faint star-like dot. Only for very few objects we have been able to resolve their discs. Yet, we had no chance to observe any surface details directly. This is in particular true for the more distant objects in the outer regions of our solar system. Just imagine how challenging it was to resolve Pluto and obtain very coarse surface maps. With regard to this, we should not forget that Pluto is among the largest objects there in that region. Other objects are much smaller and can be even more distant. We have seen that the dwarf planet Eris might be larger than Pluto. However, it is also clearly more distant to us. This raises the bar again for observing it.