Detecting a small Kuiper Belt object using archival data of HST's Fine Guidance Sensor

Shay Zucker; Hilke E. Schlichting; Eran O. Ofek; Mike Wenz; Re'em Sari; Avishay Gal-Yam; Mario Livio; Ed Nelan

Detecting a small Kuiper Belt object using archival data of HST's Fine Guidance Sensor

Shay Zucker^*, Hilke E. Schlichting, Eran O. Ofek, Mike Wenz, Re'em Sari, Avishay Gal-Yam, Mario Livio, Ed Nelan

^*Corresponding author for this work

School of the Environment and Earth Sciences

Research output: Contribution to journal › Conference article › peer-review

Abstract

The Kuiper Belt is a remnant of the primordial Solar System. Measurements of its size distribution constrain its accretion and collisional history, and the importance of material strength of Kuiper elt objects. Small, sub-kilometer-sized, Kuiper Belt objects elude direct detection, but the signature of their occultations of background stars should be detectable. Such an occultation event lasts typically a fraction of a second, thus making it a classical high time-resolution observation. Here we report an analysis of archival data of HST's Fine Guidance Sensors (FGS), that reveals an occultation by such a small object. The detection introduces the FGS as a valuable HTRA instrument. We discuss the statistical aspects regarding the validation of the detection claim, and its physical implications.

Original language	English
Journal	Proceedings of Science
Volume	108
State	Published - 2010
Event	4th High Time Resolution Astrophysics - The Era of Extremely Large Telescopes, HTRA 2010 - Crete, Greece Duration: 5 May 2010 → 7 May 2010

Cite this

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title = "Detecting a small Kuiper Belt object using archival data of HST's Fine Guidance Sensor",

abstract = "The Kuiper Belt is a remnant of the primordial Solar System. Measurements of its size distribution constrain its accretion and collisional history, and the importance of material strength of Kuiper elt objects. Small, sub-kilometer-sized, Kuiper Belt objects elude direct detection, but the signature of their occultations of background stars should be detectable. Such an occultation event lasts typically a fraction of a second, thus making it a classical high time-resolution observation. Here we report an analysis of archival data of HST's Fine Guidance Sensors (FGS), that reveals an occultation by such a small object. The detection introduces the FGS as a valuable HTRA instrument. We discuss the statistical aspects regarding the validation of the detection claim, and its physical implications.",

author = "Shay Zucker and Schlichting, {Hilke E.} and Ofek, {Eran O.} and Mike Wenz and Re'em Sari and Avishay Gal-Yam and Mario Livio and Ed Nelan",

year = "2010",

language = "אנגלית",

volume = "108",

journal = "Proceedings of Science",

issn = "1824-8039",

publisher = "Sissa Medialab Srl",

note = "4th High Time Resolution Astrophysics - The Era of Extremely Large Telescopes, HTRA 2010 ; Conference date: 05-05-2010 Through 07-05-2010",

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T1 - Detecting a small Kuiper Belt object using archival data of HST's Fine Guidance Sensor

AU - Zucker, Shay

AU - Schlichting, Hilke E.

AU - Ofek, Eran O.

AU - Wenz, Mike

AU - Sari, Re'em

AU - Gal-Yam, Avishay

AU - Livio, Mario

AU - Nelan, Ed

PY - 2010

Y1 - 2010

N2 - The Kuiper Belt is a remnant of the primordial Solar System. Measurements of its size distribution constrain its accretion and collisional history, and the importance of material strength of Kuiper elt objects. Small, sub-kilometer-sized, Kuiper Belt objects elude direct detection, but the signature of their occultations of background stars should be detectable. Such an occultation event lasts typically a fraction of a second, thus making it a classical high time-resolution observation. Here we report an analysis of archival data of HST's Fine Guidance Sensors (FGS), that reveals an occultation by such a small object. The detection introduces the FGS as a valuable HTRA instrument. We discuss the statistical aspects regarding the validation of the detection claim, and its physical implications.

AB - The Kuiper Belt is a remnant of the primordial Solar System. Measurements of its size distribution constrain its accretion and collisional history, and the importance of material strength of Kuiper elt objects. Small, sub-kilometer-sized, Kuiper Belt objects elude direct detection, but the signature of their occultations of background stars should be detectable. Such an occultation event lasts typically a fraction of a second, thus making it a classical high time-resolution observation. Here we report an analysis of archival data of HST's Fine Guidance Sensors (FGS), that reveals an occultation by such a small object. The detection introduces the FGS as a valuable HTRA instrument. We discuss the statistical aspects regarding the validation of the detection claim, and its physical implications.

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SN - 1824-8039

VL - 108

JO - Proceedings of Science

JF - Proceedings of Science

T2 - 4th High Time Resolution Astrophysics - The Era of Extremely Large Telescopes, HTRA 2010

Y2 - 5 May 2010 through 7 May 2010

ER -

Detecting a small Kuiper Belt object using archival data of HST's Fine Guidance Sensor

Abstract

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