Overview

The Subaru Telescope's wide and deep imaging observations are contributing information to the New Horizons spacecraft as it moves through the outer Solar System. By applying a unique analysis method to images of Kuiper Belt objects taken by the Subaru Telescope's ultra-wide-field camera, objects that have the potential to extend the Kuiper Belt region have been discovered. The results of this research were published in Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan on May 29, 2024 (Yoshida et al., "A deep analysis for New Horizons' KBO search images"). Associate Professor Takashi Ito of the Center for Computational Astrophysics (CfCA) contributed to this research. For more information, please read the Subaru Telescope's webpage. (June 26, 2024)

Figure 1: Schematic diagram showing the orbits of the two discovered objects (red: 2020 KJ60, purple: 2020 KK60). The plus symbol represents the Sun, and the green lines represent the orbits of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, from the inside out. The numbers on the vertical and horizontal axes represent the distance from the Sun in astronomical units (au, one au corresponds to the distance between the Sun and the Earth). The black dots represent classical Kuiper Belt objects, which are thought to be a group of icy planetesimals that formed in situ in the early Solar System and are distributed near the ecliptic plane. The gray dots represent outer Solar System objects with a semi-major axis greater than 30 au. These include objects scattered by Neptune, so they extend far out, and many have orbits inclined with respect to the ecliptic plane. The circles and dots in the figure represent their positions on June 1, 2024. (Credit: JAXA)
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Researcher's Comments

The New Horizons mission is largely led by scientists in North America, but NAOJ’s Subaru Telescope plays a central role in the ongoing ground-based observation to support it. Astronomers in Japan also contribute not only in the observation but also in the development of data analysis methods and theoretical calculations. In addition to being a member of the observation planning team that also participates in the actual observation activity, I have also taken part in the final stage of data analysis - the visual verification (vetting) of the source to determine whether the detected signal is a true source or not. By conducting observations using a Japanese telescope and processing the data using a method developed in Japan, we discovered objects that will greatly expand our knowledge of the outer Solar System. This effort culminated in the first paper that the New Horizons ground-based observation team published. I am really pleased and honored to have been a part of this mission.
(Takashi Ito, CfCA/NAOJ)

Publication Information

Title: "A deep analysis for New Horizons’ KBO search images"
Authors: Fumi Yoshida et al.
Journal: Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan
DOI: 10.1093/pasj/psae043

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A New Horizon for the Kuiper Belt: Subaru Telescope's Wide-Field Observations

Overview

Researcher's Comments

Publication Information

For the Use of Contents in This Website

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