Is the missing ultra-red material colorless ice?

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2008.10.021 Byline: W.M. Grundy Keywords: Kuiper belt; Transneptunian objects; Centaurs; Ices; Spectroscopy Abstract: The extremely red colors of some transneptunian objects and Centaurs are not seen among the Jupiter family comets which supposedly derive from them. Could this mismatch result from sublimation loss of colorless ice? Radiative transfer models show that mixtures of volatile ice and non-volatile organics could be extremely red, but become progressively darker and less red as the ice sublimates away. Author Affiliation: Lowell Observatory, 1400 W. Mars Hill Rd., Flagstaff, AZ 86001, USA Article History: Received 23 July 2008; Revised 30 September 2008; Accepted 27 October 2008