Spectrophotometric observations of Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt objects

The Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt (EKB) objects are fossil remnants of the formation of the Solar System and they represent an important reservoir of primordial, thermally unprocessed material. The study of these objects has rapidly evolved in the last few years. New observational work allowed planetary scientists to investigate evolutionary and dynamical processes in the outer solar system, putting some constraints on, for example, the origin of comets and the accretion of planetesimals. The chemical and physical information on this population is still very poor: intensive observational studies are needed. For this reason we started a spectrophotometric observation program in 1997 at ESO with the NTT telescope to investigate the EKB. We present the obtained results for six objects (1994 JR(1), 1994 TB, 1995 QY(9), 1996 TL66, 1996 TO66, and 1996 TP66). We analyzed all the B, V, R, and I data available in the literature to investigate some bulk properties. We found indications of a complex and inhomogeneous population. (C) 1999 Academic Press.