Datasets:

juliensimon
/

tno-centaur-properties

license: cc-by-4.0
pretty_name: TNO/Centaur Physical Properties (PDS)
language:
  - en
description: >-
  Physical properties of Trans-Neptunian Objects and Centaurs from PDS Small
  Bodies Node. 652 measurements with diameters, albedos, and densities.
task_categories:
  - tabular-regression
tags:
  - space
  - tno
  - centaur
  - kuiper-belt
  - trans-neptunian
  - planetary-science
  - pds
  - open-data
  - tabular-data
  - parquet
size_categories:
  - n<1K
configs:
  - config_name: default
    data_files:
      - split: train
        path: data/tno_centaur_properties.parquet
    default: true

TNO/Centaur Physical Properties (PDS)

Rosetta spacecraft approaching Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Credit: NASA/ESA

Part of the Asteroids & Small Bodies Datasets collection on Hugging Face.

A compilation of 652 physical property measurements for Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs) and Centaurs from the PDS Small Bodies Node. Includes diameters, geometric albedos, and bulk densities with uncertainties, cross-referenced with orbital elements and dynamical classifications.

Dataset description

Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs) inhabit the outer reaches of the solar system beyond Neptune's orbit (a > 30 AU). They are remnants of the primordial planetesimal disk, preserved in cold storage for 4.5 billion years, and represent the least-processed material in the solar system. Centaurs are dynamically unstable objects on orbits that cross the giant planets, thought to be TNOs in transition toward the inner solar system.

Physical characterization of these distant objects is exceptionally challenging. Diameters and albedos are measured via thermal emission (Spitzer, Herschel), stellar occultations, or resolved imaging (HST, adaptive optics). Density measurements require binary or multiple systems where masses can be determined from mutual orbits. This dataset compiles measurements from multiple techniques and references, with some objects having multiple independent measurements.

The dynamical classification reveals the structure of the trans-Neptunian region: classical Kuiper Belt objects (cubewanos), resonant populations (plutinos in 3:2, twotinos in 2:1), scattered disk objects, and detached/extreme objects like Sedna.

Dynamical types

Type	Measurements
CEN	183
PLU	119
TNO	103
CUB	99
SAT	48
SDO	38
HAU	30
1:2	12
2:5	7
3:10	3
3:8	2
3:5	2
4:7	2
2:7	2
NL4	2

Quick stats

652 total measurements (~194 unique objects)
493 with measured effective diameter
652 with geometric albedo
652 with bulk density
Largest object: 3263 km diameter

Usage

from datasets import load_dataset

ds = load_dataset("juliensimon/tno-centaur-properties", split="train")
df = ds.to_pandas()

# Diameter vs albedo
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
valid = df.dropna(subset=["effective_diameter_km", "albedo"])
plt.scatter(valid["effective_diameter_km"], valid["albedo"], alpha=0.5, s=15)
plt.xscale("log")
plt.xlabel("Effective Diameter (km)")
plt.ylabel("Geometric Albedo")
plt.title("TNO/Centaur Size vs Albedo")
plt.show()

# Orbital distribution
plt.scatter(df["semimajor_axis_au"], df["eccentricity"],
            c=df["inclination_deg"], cmap="viridis", alpha=0.5, s=10)
plt.colorbar(label="Inclination (deg)")
plt.xlabel("Semimajor Axis (AU)")
plt.ylabel("Eccentricity")
plt.title("TNO/Centaur Orbital Elements")
plt.show()

# Objects with density measurements
dense = df[df["density_g_cm3"].notna()].drop_duplicates("provisional_designation")
print(f"Objects with density: {len(dense)}")
print(dense[["asteroid_name", "density_g_cm3", "effective_diameter_km"]].to_string())

Data source

PDS Small Bodies Node, TNO-Centaur Diameter/Albedo/Density compilation (V1.0): sbnarchive.psi.edu

Related datasets

JPL Small Body Database — 1.4M+ asteroid/comet orbital elements
Nesvorny Asteroid Families — 171K asteroid family members
NEOWISE — Near-Earth object diameters and albedos
Comets (MPC) — Minor Planet Center comet catalog

Pipeline

Source code: juliensimon/space-datasets

Support

If you find this dataset useful, please give it a ❤️ on the dataset page and share feedback in the Community tab! Also consider giving a ⭐ to the space-datasets repo.

Citation

@dataset{tno_centaur_properties,
  author = {Simon, Julien},
  title = {TNO/Centaur Physical Properties (PDS)},
  year = {2026},
  publisher = {Hugging Face},
  url = {https://huggingface.co/datasets/juliensimon/tno-centaur-properties},
  note = {Based on PDS Small Bodies Node TNO-Centaur compilation}
}

License

CC-BY-4.0