The Kuiper Belt size distribution constrained by Stellar Occultations

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

Scientific paper

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Scientific paper

Simultaneous observations of target stars in the ecliptic have been performed at the Pic du Midi Observatory in december 2003 with the 2-m TBL and the T1M telescopes with multi-objects photometers in order to search for small Kuiper Belt Objects by stellar occultations. 9 hours of good S/N data have been obtained.
Observations have also been performed in april 2004 with the 4-m William Hershel Telescope in Canarias with the ultra-fast, triple beam camera Ultracam. The flux of two stars have been recorded with a time frequency of 40 Hz in three wavelengths, 3500 A, 4700A and 7700 A. The comparison of the simultaneous ligthcurves of the two stars, separated by a few arcseconds, allow discrimination of false events. The target stars have been chosen to optimize the brightness/apparent size ratio. The stars radii, projected at 40 AU, are less than 100 meters. Then, the occultation is a diffracting phenomenon whose spectral signature can be tested. These observations bring strong constraints on the low end of the size distribution of the Kuiper Belt objects, 100 meters to 1 km. The results and the events are presented and analyzed.
This work was supported by the Programme National de Planetologie

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