Collaborative Research: RECON, Probing the Outer Solar System with Occultations

合作研究：RECON，利用掩星探测外太阳系

• 批准号: 1848621
• 负责人: John Keller
• 金额: $ 9.79万
• 依托单位: University of Colorado at Boulder
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-03-01 至 2020-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1848621&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; RECON; Probing; Outer

This award funds work to expand a telescope network that was developed with a pilot project, and carry out observing campaigns to measure size and shapes of ten Trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) in the outer solar system, and search for moons around them. TNOs are relatively small (diameters range from larger than Pluto to smaller than 100km) frozen bodies that orbit the Sun beyond Neptune's average distance, and formed at the same time as the rest of our solar system. The investigators plan to determine the TNO sizes by observing them as they pass in front of, and temporarily block, distant starlight. They will do this by using 40 telescopes spread out throughout the western United States with the help of 40 different communities of citizen scientists, whom they will teach and train in research methods with workshops and other education efforts. The data will be used to test models of solar system formation.The occultation diameters will also be used to provide cross-calibration of thermal radiometry-based diameters, extend the occultation sample down to 100 km objects, and improve knowledge of albedo distributions. The team will also constrain the binary fraction to a small smaller physical and angular separation than is currently possible with other surveys, and search for low-separation multiple component (moons) systems.

该奖项资助扩大通过试点项目开发的望远镜网络的工作，并开展观测活动，测量太阳系外十个海王星天体（TNO）的大小和形状，并搜索它们周围的卫星。 TNO 是相对较小（直径范围从大于冥王星到小于 100 公里）的冰冻天体，它们绕太阳运行超出海王星的平均距离，并且与太阳系其他部分同时形成。研究人员计划通过观察海天组织（TNO）经过并暂时阻挡遥远星光时的大小来确定它们的大小。 他们将在 40 个不同社区的公民科学家的帮助下，使用分布在美国西部的 40 个望远镜来实现这一目标，他们将通过研讨会和其他教育活动对他们进行研究方法的教学和培训。 这些数据将用于测试太阳系形成的模型。掩星直径还将用于提供基于热辐射测量的直径的交叉校准，将掩星样本扩展到 100 公里物体，并提高对反照率分布的了解。该团队还将把二元部分限制在比目前其他勘测可能的更小的物理和角度间隔，并寻找低间隔的多分量（卫星）系统。