Searching for water ice on 47171 1999 TC36, 1998 SG35, and 2000 QC243: ESO large program on TNOs and centaurs☆

Transneptunian objects and Centaurs are supposed to be among the most pristine bodies of the Solar System. To investigate their physical properties and their surface composition, an ESO large program at the Very Large Telescope was carried out. In this paper we present photometric and spectroscopic near-infrared data of two Centaurs (1998 SG35 and 2000 QC243) and one transneptunian object (47171 1999 TC36). For 47171 1999 TC36 and 1998 SG35 visible photometry is also presented. Models of the surface composition of these objects are presented and discussed. By including a small percentage of water ice in our geographical mixtures, we obtain a better agreement with the observations in the H and K bands.