Telescopes with large optics are required to capture them with sufficient quality for direct analysis. These are telescopes over two meters in diameter.
However, it is also possible to study these trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) from indirect observations, which sometimes give good results. This is the case with the recent discovery in which a group of astronomers from the Southwest Research Institute (Texas, USA) has detected the closest trans-Neptunian binary object. The study detailing this discovery has been published in The planetary sciences journal this week.
This is object (523764) 2014 WC510. The technique used has been to monitor the occultation of a star by this object. This technique is sometimes used to confirm the discovery of binary asteroids or the detection of rings around other trans-Neptunian objects. What is peculiar this time is that the hidden star has also turned out to be a binary star.
Specifically, the study has revealed that the size of the trans-Neptunian 523764 is 181 ± 16 km and has a satellite = 138 ± 32 km , which orbits its surroundings at a distance of 349 ± 26 kilometers. They have also determined that both bodies have the same albedo, specifically 5.7%.
An interesting aspect of this work is that the images used were not recent, but had been taken two years ago, in December 2018, by the RECON ( Research and Education Collaborative Occultation Network ) through its network of small telescopes distributed throughout over 2,000 kilometers in the western United States and Canada.
From these images, the astronomers have quantified the decrease in brightness of the star during the occultation and have detected several consecutive decreases in brightness, which revealed the existence of the satellite.
This finding shows that in the image repositories of astronomical centers there are still many discoveries to be made, which reveals the importance of data mining from astronomical images stored for years. This working method is used in some near-Earth asteroid location studies, in order to recalculate their orbits or even to recover a lost asteroid ( recovery research tasks ).
Reference: Rodrigo Leiva et al, Stellar Occultation by the Resonant Trans-Neptunian Object (523764) 2014 WC510 Reveals a Close Binary TNO, The Planetary Science Journal (2020). DOI: 10.3847 / PSJ / abb23d
Amadeo Aznar Macías
Astronomy For All Observatories Group
www.apt.com.es
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