Subscribe to the gold package and get unlimited access to Shamra Academy
Register a new userThe Pan-STARRS 1 Discoveries of five new Neptune Trojans
62
0
0.0
(
0
)
Ask ChatGPT about the research
No Arabic abstract
In this work we report the detection of seven Neptune Trojans (NTs) in the Pan-STARRS 1 (PS1) survey. Five of these are new discoveries, consisting of four L4 Trojans and one L5 Trojan. Our orbital simulations show that the L5 Trojan stably librates for only several million years. This suggests that the L5 Trojan must be of recent capture origin. On the other hand, all four new L4 Trojans stably occupy the 1:1 resonance with Neptune for more than 1 Gyr. They can, therefore, be of primordial origin. Our survey simulation results show that the inclination width of the Neptune Trojan population should be between $7^{circ}$ and $27^{circ}$ at $>$ 95% confidence, and most likely $sim 11^{circ}$. In this paper, we describe the PS1 survey, the Outer Solar System pipeline, the confirming observations, and the orbital/physical properties of the new Neptune Trojans.
rate research
Read More
Using the first 18 months of the Pan-STARRS 1 survey we have identified 33 candidate high-amplitude objects for follow-up observations and carried out observations of 22 asteroids. 4 of the observed objects were found to have observed amplitude $A_{obs}geq 1.0$ mag. We find that these high amplitude objects are most simply explained by single rubble pile objects with some density-dependent internal strength, allowing them to resist mass shedding even at their highly elongated shapes. 3 further objects although below the cut-off for high-amplitude had a combination of elongation and rotation period which also may require internal cohesive strength, depending on the density of the body. We find that none of the high-amplitude asteroids identified here require any unusual cohesive strengths to resist rotational fission. 3 asteroids were sufficiently observed to allow for shape and spin pole models to be determined through light curve inversion. 45864 was determined to have retrograde rotation with spin pole axes $lambda=218pm 10^{circ}, beta=-82pm 5^{circ}$ and asteroid 206167 was found to have best fit spin pole axes $lambda= 57 pm 5^{circ}$, $beta=-67 pm 5^{circ}$. An additional object not initially measured with $A_{obs}>1.0$ mag, 49257, was determined to have a shape model which does suggest a high-amplitude object. Its spin pole axes were best fit for values $lambda=112pm 6^{circ}, beta=6pm 5^{circ}$. In the course of this project to date no large super-fast rotators ($P_{rot} < 2.2$ h) have been identified.
P/2011 S1 (Gibbs) is an outer solar system comet or active Centaur with a similar orbit to that of the famous 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1. P/2011 S1 (Gibbs) has been observed by the Pan-STARRS 1 (PS1) sky survey from 2010 to 2012. The resulting data allow us to perform multi-color studies of the nucleus and coma of the comet. Analysis of PS1 images reveals that P/2011 S1 (Gibbs) has a small nucleus $< 4$ km radius, with colors $g_{P1}-r_{P1} = 0.5 pm 0.02$, $r_{P1}-i_{P1} = 0.12 pm 0.02$ and $i_{P1}-z_{P1} = 0.46 pm 0.03$. The comet remained active from 2010 to 2012, with a model-dependent mass-loss rate of $sim100$ kg s$^{-1}$. The mass-loss rate per unit surface area of P/2011 S1 (Gibbs) is as high as that of 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1, making it one of the most active Centaurs. The mass-loss rate also varies with time from $sim 40$ kg s$^{-1}$ to 150 kg s$^{-1}$. Due to its rather circular orbit, we propose that P/2011 S1 (Gibbs) has 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1-like outbursts that control the outgassing rate. The results indicate that it may have a similar surface composition to that of 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1. Our numerical simulations show that the future orbital evolution of P/2011 S1 (Gibbs) is more similar to that of the main population of Centaurs than to that of 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1. The results also demonstrate that P/2011 S1 (Gibbs) is dynamically unstable and can only remain near its current orbit for roughly a thousand years.
We report the discovery of the eighth and ninth known Trojans in stable orbits around Neptunes leading Lagrange point, L4. The objects 2014 QO$_{441}$ and 2014 QP$_{441}$ were detected in data obtained during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 observing seasons by the Dark Energy Survey, using the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) on the 4-meter Blanco telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory. Both are in high-inclination orbits (18.8$^{circ}$ and 19.4$^{circ}$ respectively). With an eccentricity of 0.104, 2014 QO$_{441}$ has the most eccentric orbit of the eleven known stable Neptune Trojans. Here we describe the search procedure and investigate the objects long-term dynamical stability and physical properties.
Thick back-illuminated deep-depletion CCDs have superior quantum efficiency over previous generations of thinned and traditional thick CCDs. As a result, they are being used for wide-field imaging cameras in several major projects. We use observations from the Pan-STARRS $3pi$ survey to characterize the behavior of the deep-depletion devices used in the Pan-STARRS1 Gigapixel Camera. We have identified systematic spatial variations in the photometric measurements and stellar profiles which are similar in pattern to the so-called tree rings identified in devices used by other wide-field cameras (e.g., DECam and Hypersuprime Camera). The tree-ring features identified in these other cameras result from lateral electric fields which displace the electrons as they are transported in the silicon to the pixel location. In contrast, we show that the photometric and morphological modifications observed in the GPC1 detectors are caused by variations in the vertical charge transportation rate and resulting charge diffusion variations.
Dynamically new comet C/2011 L4 (PanSTARRS) is one of the brightest comets since the great comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp). Here, we present our multi-wavelength observations of C/2011 L4 during its in-bound passage to the inner Solar system. A strong absorption band of water ice at 2.0 $mu$m was detected in the near infrared spectra, taken with the 8-m Gemini-North and 3-m IRTF telescopes. The companion 1.5 $mu$m band of water ice, however, was not observed. Spectral modeling show that the absence of the 1.5 $mu$m feature can be explained by the presence of sub-micron-sized fine ice grains. No gas lines (i.e. CN, HCN or CO) were observed pre-perihelion either in the optical or in the sub-millimeter. 3-$sigma$ upper limits to the CN and CO production rates were derived. The comet exhibited a very strong continuum in the optical and its slope seemed to become redder as the comet approached the Sun. Our observations suggest that C/2011 L4 is an unusually dust-rich comet with a dust-to-gas mass ratio $>$ 4.
Log in to be able to interact and post comments
comments
Fetching comments
Sign in to be able to follow your search criteria
