Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Dec 2007
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007aas...21113714j&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #211, #137.14; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 39, p.981
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
1
Scientific paper
LSST will provide a unique tool to study moving objects in the solar system. In the baseline LSST observing plan, back-to-back 15-second images will reach a limiting magnitude as faint as r=24.7 in each 9.6 square degree field twice per night; approximately 15,000 square degrees will be imaged in multiple filters every 3 nights. This time sampling will continue throughout each lunation, creating a massive catalog of solar system objects with accurately measured orbits, as well as colors and lightcurves accurate to 0.005 magnitudes for the brightest objects.
The catalog will include more than 80\% of the potentially hazardous asteroids larger than 140m diameter within 10 years, millions of main-belt asteroids and perhaps 20,000 Trans-Neptunian Objects. By observing fields over a wide range of ecliptic longitudes and latitudes, including large separations from the ecliptic plane, not only will these catalogs greatly increase the numbers of known objects, the characterization of the inclination distributions of these populations will be much improved. Derivation of proper elements for main belt and Trojan asteroids will allow ever more resolution of asteroid families and their size-frequency distribution, as well as the study of the long-term dynamics of the individual asteroids and the asteroid belt as a whole. By obtaining multi-color ugrizy data for a substantial fraction of objects, relationships between color and dynamical history can be established. With the addition of light-curve information, rotation periods and phase curves can be measured for large fractions of each population, leading to new insight on physical characteristics. In addition, long-period comets will be discovered at much larger distances than previously possible, enabling testing of Oort cloud population models.
Chesley Steven R.
Connolly Andrew J.
Harris Alan W.
Ivezic Zeljko
Jones Robert L.
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