The Main Belt Comets and ice in the Solar System

We review the evidence for buried ice in the asteroid belt; specifically the questions around the so-called Main Belt Comets (MBCs). We summarise the evidence for water throughout the Solar System, and describe the various methods for detecting it, including remote sensing from ultraviolet to radio wavelengths. We review progress in the first decade of study of MBCs, including observations, modelling of ice survival, and discussion on their origins. We then look at which methods will likely be most effective for further progress, including the key challenge of direct detection of (escaping) water in these bodies

The Diverse Population Of Small Bodies Of The Solar System

Small bodies are rocky and/or icy objects, usually ranging in size from a few meters to a few hundreds of kilometers. They comprise near-Earth and main belt asteroids, Jupiter Trojans, trans-Neptunian objects, Centaurs, comets, and a recently discovered category called the transitional objects. Their physical nature, distribution, formation, and evolution are fundamental to understand how the solar system formed and evolved and, ultimately, how planetary systems are formed in other stars. The number of discoveries regarding exoplanets and debris disks is continuously increasing, and therefore it is crucial to first understand our own solar system\u27s provenance and evolution in order to better interpret what is going on in newly discovered planetary systems. In this chapter we review the main physical and compositional properties of the different populations of small bodies of the solar system