Trans-Neptunian Object Search in the Dark Energy Survey
Abstract
Several algorithms have been designed for identifying minor planets in our solar system, more specifically asteroids and trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs). However, such algorithms rely on back to back exposures that are taken within an hour to identify moving objects (transients) within a certain portion of the sky. We develop a method to identify trans-Neptunian objects in data where images contain gaps up to weeks or even months. We are able to cut down on the computational costs by initially considering partial orbits that are formed by the transient detections, then extending those partial orbits into longer chains. We applied our algorithm on the Dark Energy Survey wide survey and have identified approximately 50 new TNOs after running the pipeline through ~10% of the search area, including one with semi-major axis of ~460AU.
- Publication:
-
American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #233
- Pub Date:
- January 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019AAS...23325505L