  The near-infrared spectrum of (50000) Quaoar obtained at the Keck Observatory
shows distinct absorption features of crystalline water ice, solid methane and
ethane, and possibly other higher order hydrocarbons. Quaoar is only the fifth
Kuiper belt object on which volatile ices have been detected. The small amount
of methane on an otherwise water ice dominated surface suggests that Quaoar is
a transition object between the dominant volatile-poor small Kuiper belt
objects (KBOs) and the few volatile-rich large KBOs such as Pluto and Eris.
