Solar phase curves of distant icy bodies

For each body we have made ~100 observations uniformly spread over the entire visible range. We find that all the targets except Nereid have linear phase curves at small phase angles (0.1{deg}-2.0{deg}) with widely varying phase coefficients (0.0-0.4mag/deg).

At phase angles of 2{deg}-3{deg}, the Centaurs (54598) Bienor and (32532) Thereus have phase curves that flatten. The recently discovered Pluto-scale bodies (2005 FY9, 2003 EL61, and 2003 UB313 now known as 136199 Eris), like Pluto, have neutral colors compared to most TNOs and small phase coefficients (~0.1mag/deg). Together, these two properties are a likely indication of large TNOs with high-albedo, freshly coated icy surfaces.