1 / 13

The KBO/TNO Project

Recovery and Detection on the 60” by: Becky, Erica, Christina & Emily J. Advisors: Caitlin & Susan. The KBO/TNO Project. Why We Did It. It is very important to know the mass distribution of the solar system so we can determine how it was formed.

giles
Download Presentation

The KBO/TNO Project

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Recovery and Detection on the 60” by: Becky, Erica, Christina & Emily J. Advisors: Caitlin & Susan The KBO/TNO Project

  2. Why We Did It • It is very important to know the mass distribution of the solar system so we can determine how it was formed. • In the past, when we had inferred the presence of more mass, we have made such discoveries as Pluto and Uranus. • Small telescopes can discover TNOs, but often have too small a field of view to follow up. • We can get credit for astronomy camp discoveries. • Susan lost one. We got it back.

  3. Solar System Formation • The Core Accretion Theory • One of the more traditional and conventional theories • Dust and rock, followed by gas, slowly coalesces into larger structures, eventually becoming planets. • This theory has several flaws that have led astronomers to look for alternative theories. • One of these problems is the enormous time scale necessary to form large gas giants like Jupiter.

  4. Solar System Formation • The Disk Instability Theory • Eliminates the time scale problem • Claims that gas, as opposed to rock and dust, formed first. • This theory requires a marginally gravitationally instable disk • Over time, disk separated into various arms and clumps. • Large planets can form much faster than in the Core Accretion Theory

  5. Procedure • This process is similar to that of the NEOs, however it requires a longer time scale because these objects move much slower. • Therefore, we imaged eight fields where we expected to find KBOs, and re-imaged them on successive nights. • The validating process was more involved than the NEO process, because the computer does not detect the objects in as straightforward a manner.

  6. Data Reduction • In order to reduce our data, we stacked five images of each field, and than compared the stacked image with another night's data. • We than searched the field for evidence of a moving object, indicated by dots corresponding in shape and size, but differing in position from night to night. • The speed of the object's motion was calculated. If it was between 2 and 5 arcseconds per hour, we had found our KBO. BUT....

  7. Results • Every KBO field contains many moving objects. And they're big fields.

  8. Looking at the Field • Based on the previous observations, an uncertainty is given to each object - this shows the part of the field where the object is most likely to be.

  9. Looking at the Field • A utility called “Looker” is used to overlay two nights of images for inspection.

  10. Our Object • This is the KBO we recovered - designation 2003FM127. Can you see it moving?

  11. Our Object • This is the KBO we recovered - designation 2003FM127. Can you see it moving?

  12. Our Object Susan’s lightcurve for 2003FM127. P=6.2 hours

  13. Conclusion • KBOs are objects of paramount importance because they hold much of the mass in the solar system. • The study of KBOs greatly assists astronomers in theorizing on the formation of our solar system, perhaps leading to an enhanced ability to find planets similar to our own.

More Related