Dr. Humberto Campins will lead a systematic three-year study of Centaurs, Transneptunian Objects (TNOs), and inactive nuclei of Jupiter-family (JF) comets. He will obtain near-infrared spectra as a function of rotational phase for members of these three groups. The proper study of the spectral variability with rotational phase in a significant number of Centaurs, TNOs, and JF comets is essential if we are to understand the evolutionary links between these three populations of primitive Solar System objects. Dr. Campins will observe with the new 6.5- meter MMT facility in Arizona, which will allow detailed observations of enough members of each population for a proper comparison of their properties. He has already demonstrated that one of these objects (8405 Asbolus) has a dramatic spectral variation as a function of rotational phase. ***
