The KBO/TNO Project

Recovery and Detection on the 60”by:

Becky, Erica, Christina & Emily J.Advisors:

Caitlin & Susan

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.

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.

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

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.

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....

Results● Every KBO field contains many moving

objects. And they're big fields.

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.

Looking at the Field

● A utility called “Looker” is used to overlay two nights of images for inspection.

Our Object

● This is the KBO we recovered - designation 2003FM127. Can you see it moving?

Our Object

● This is the KBO we recovered - designation 2003FM127. Can you see it moving?

Our Object

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

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.