The atmosphere of 2060 Chiron

An explanation for 2060 Chiron's behavior, which focuses on the influence of Chiron's mass on the development of its dust coma, is presented. It is suggested that dust is entrained by the flow of CO or another gas of similar volatility from an active region. It remains gravitationally bound on orbits confined to a region, roughly 5000 km in extent, that lies between the surface and an exopause imposed by radiation pressure forces. The influence of radiation pressure transforms the initial particle trajectories into satellite orbits with a characteristic period of 20 days and orbital residence time of about 25 revolutions. The particle population in the coma slowly increases, explaining Chiron's photometric behavior. 74 refs