A combined HST and JWST study of the composition of the faintest trans-Neptunian objects: Testing hypotheses for the formation of the Solar System
Abstract
The outermost region in our Solar System retains the most pristine signatures of planetary system formation and evolution. This trans-Neptunian region and its inhabitants (trans-Neptunian objects, or TNOs) therefore offer some of the best records of the earliest stages of the formation of our Solar System. There are two very different theories for how the outermost Solar System formed and evolved, and the color distribution of very small TNOs is the diagnostic key to discriminating between these two models. We propose here 99 HST orbits to address this outstanding question in planetary system formation. We will use WFC3 and ACS in a coordinated parallel program to map most of the footprint of a JWST TNO discovery program. TNO colors will be derived by combining our HST photometry with photometry from that JWST program. We will measure the colors of at least 15 TNOs as small as 10 km and will provide a definitive test of current models of the evolution of the outer Solar System. The HST observations must be made simultaneously with the JWST observations to derive both TNO colors and parallaxes. This program can only be carried out with HST, and only by combining data from both HST and JWST. The result from this program will have broad implications across multiple fields of astronomy and showcase the unique joint capabilities of NASA's premier observatories. No other facility is capable of such sensitive measurements, and this program leverages a significant investment of allocated JWST time.
- Publication:
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HST Proposal
- Pub Date:
- June 2021
- Bibcode:
- 2021hst..prop16720T