Roques, F., Doressoundiram, A., Dhillon, V. S., Marsh, T. R., Bickerton, S., Kavelaars, J. J., Moncuquet, M., Auvergne, M., Belskaya, I., Chevreton, M., Colas, F., Fernandez, A., Fitzsimmons, A., Lecacheux, J., Mousis, O., Pau, S., Peixinho, N. and Tozzi, G. P.. (2006) Exploration of the Kuiper Belt by high-precision photometric stellar occultations: First results. Astronomical Journal, Vol.132 (No.2). pp. 819-822. ISSN 0004-6256

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Abstract

We report here the first detection of hectometer-size objects by the method of serendipitous stellar occultation. This method consists of recording the diffraction shadow created when an object crosses the observer's line of sight and occults the disk of a background star. One of our detections is most consistent with an object between Saturn and Uranus. The two other diffraction patterns detected are caused by Kuiper Belt objects beyond 100 AU from the Sun and hence are the farthest known objects in the solar system. These detections show that the Kuiper Belt is much more extended than previously believed and that the outer part of the disk could be composed of smaller objects than the inner part. This gives critical clues to understanding the problem of the formation of the outer planets of the solar system.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	Q Science > QB Astronomy
Divisions:	Faculty of Science > Physics
Journal or Publication Title:	Astronomical Journal
Publisher:	Institute of Physics Publishing, Inc.
ISSN:	0004-6256
Date:	August 2006
Volume:	Vol.132
Number:	No.2
Number of Pages:	4
Page Range:	pp. 819-822
Identification Number:	10.1086/505623
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	Published
Access rights to Published version:	Open Access
Funder:	Fundação do Ministerio de Ciência e Tecnologia, Portugal
Grant number:	SFRH/BD/1094/2000
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/33198

Data sourced from Thomson Reuters' Web of Knowledge

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