Exploring the Kuiper Belt with the Magellan Telescopes

Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

AST 0707609 Elliot Located at the edge of the observable solar system, the Kuiper belt contains ~70,000 objects larger than 100 km in diameter. Over 1200 of these small, icy bodies have been identified and catalogued by the Minor Planet Center (MPC). The inhabitants of this region (Kuiper belt objects, aka KBOs) have likely experienced little thermal modification since their formation 4.5 billion years ago, thus the Kuiper belt may be considered a fossil record of the outer solar system. Observations of the Kuiper belt will further our knowledge of the evolutionary processes that shaped the outer solar system that exists today. In its youth, the Kuiper belt might have appeared from afar as a disk of debris, analogous to those currently observed around young stars (e.g. Beta Pictoris), providing a link between our knowledge of processes at work in our solar system to those at work in stellar disks in the early stages of their evolution. Dr. James Elliot and his research team will carry out an integrated set of research tasks to investigate the Kuiper belt primarily with the 6.5-m Magellan telescopes at Las Campanas Observatory: (1) complete the work of the Deep Ecliptic Survey (DES), (2) improve the accuracy of the Pluto-Charon orbit and those of other binary KBOs, and (3) investigate the larger KBOs with stellaroccultations to determine sizes and search for atmospheres. The goal of the DES is to discover 500 KBOs and to follow up the discoveries until the objects have orbits that are sufficiently accurate for dynamical classification. This survey provides a well-documented sample of KBOs from which inferences can be made about the entire KBO population. Although the discovery phase of the DES is complete, this team will complete the recovery of southern-declination DES discoveries with the Magellan telescopes. These observations will prevent the loss of discoveries, establish dynamical classes, and identify particularly interesting objects, such as binary KBOs. The DES is most sensitive to objects with low inclinations and eccentricities, however, some objects that do not fit this description were discovered. Since the probability of observing such objects is low, there must be many of these objects. Continued refinement of the orbits and dynamical classifications of these objects will allow accurate estimation of the populations of different classes of objects. These projections can be used to test formation models for the belt, telling something about the original disk or about events post disk formation. With stellar occultations KBOs can be probed to a spatial resolution of a few kilometers, allowing establishment of their diameters, detection of possible atmospheres, and searches for potential nearby companions. Successful predictions for such events require many highly accurate measurements of the positions the occultation stars as well as the KBO orbits. This research project will not only further knowledge of the Kuiper belt, but it will have broader impacts as well. It will contribute to the education of undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral associates through their involvement in the research. This research program will also foster broader community interactions through strong connections to the DES team (six institutions) and the Magellan consortium (five institutions). The results will be, as with past programs, disseminated to the community and the public at large through the worldwide web, talks, and publications. ***