2007/03/31 by T. C. Nihei, Taryn Candace Nihei, M. J. Lehner +8 · 2 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astro and Planetary Science #Planetary Science and Exploration #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/521396
published as Astron.J.134:1596-1612,2007 · 25 pages, 26 figures
arxiv created 2007/07/24 · openalex publication_date 2007/08/24 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
The serendipitous detection of stellar occultations by outer solar system objects is a powerful method for ascertaining the small end ( r ≲ 15 km) of the size distribution of Kuiper Belt objects and may potentially allow the exploration of objects as far out as the Oort Cloud. The design and implementation of an occultation survey is aided by a detailed understanding of how diffraction and observational parameters affect the detection of occultation events. In this study, stellar occultations are simulated, accounting for diffraction effects, finite source sizes, finite bandwidths, stellar spectra, sampling, and signal-to-noise ratios. Finally, the possibility of detecting small outer solar system objects from the Kuiper Belt all the way out to the Oort Cloud is explored for three photometric systems: a proposed space telescope, Whipple , the Taiwanese-American Occultation Survey, and the MMT.