2008/05/29 by A. C. Becker, Kenza S. Arraki, K. Arraki +50 · 16 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Asteroid #Astro and Planetary Science #Astronomy #Astrophysics #Ecliptic #Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae #Limiting magnitude #Neptune #Orbit (dynamics) #Physics #Planet #Planetary Science and Exploration #Sky #Solar System #Supernova #Trans-Neptunian object #Uranus #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/590429
published in The Astrophysical Journal 682(1), L53-L56 (IOP Publishing) · 5 pages, 1 table, accepted for publication in ApJL
arxiv created 2008/05/29 · openalex publication_date 2008/06/27 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
We report the discovery and orbital determination of 14 trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) from the ESSENCE Supernova Survey difference imaging data set. Two additional objects discovered in a similar search of the SDSS-II Supernova Survey database were recovered in this effort. ESSENCE repeatedly observed fields far from the solar system ecliptic (–21° < β < –5°), reaching limiting magnitudes per observation of I ≈ 23.1 and R ≈ 23.7. We examine several of the newly detected objects in detail, including 2003 UC 414 , which orbits entirely between Uranus and Neptune and lies very close to a dynamical region that would make it stable for the lifetime of the solar system. 2003 SS 422 and 2007 TA 418 have high eccentricities and large perihelia, making them candidate members of an outer class of TNOs. We also report a new member of the "extended" or "detached" scattered disk, 2004 VN 112 , and verify the stability of its orbit using numerical simulations. This object would have been visible to ESSENCE for only ~2% of its orbit, suggesting a vast number of similar objects across the sky. We emphasize that off-ecliptic surveys are optimal for uncovering the diversity of such objects, which in turn will constrain the history of gravitational influences that shaped our early solar system.