The Planetary Science Journal (Jan 2024)
The New Horizons Extended Mission Target: Arrokoth Search and Discovery
- Marc W. Buie,
- John R. Spencer,
- Simon B. Porter,
- Susan D. Benecchi,
- Alex H. Parker,
- S. Alan Stern,
- Michael Belton,
- Richard P. Binzel,
- David Borncamp,
- Francesca DeMeo,
- S. Fabbro,
- Cesar Fuentes,
- Hisanori Furusawa,
- Tetsuharu Fuse,
- Pamela L. Gay,
- Stephen Gwyn,
- Matthew J. Holman,
- H. Karoji,
- J. J. Kavelaars,
- Daisuke Kinoshita,
- Satoshi Miyazaki,
- Matt Mountain,
- Keith S. Noll,
- David J. Osip,
- Jean-Marc Petit,
- Neill I. Reid,
- Scott S. Sheppard,
- Mark Showalter,
- Andrew J. Steffl,
- Ray E. Sterner,
- Akito Tajitsu,
- David J. Tholen,
- David E. Trilling,
- Harold A. Weaver,
- Anne J. Verbiscer,
- Lawrence H. Wasserman,
- Takuji Yamashita,
- Toshifumi Yanagisawa,
- Fumi Yoshida,
- Amanda M. Zangari
Affiliations
- Marc W. Buie
- ORCiD
- Southwest Research Institute , 1301 Walnut Street, Suite 400, Boulder, CO 80302, USA ; [email protected]
- John R. Spencer
- ORCiD
- Southwest Research Institute , 1301 Walnut Street, Suite 400, Boulder, CO 80302, USA ; [email protected]
- Simon B. Porter
- ORCiD
- Southwest Research Institute , 1301 Walnut Street, Suite 400, Boulder, CO 80302, USA ; [email protected]
- Susan D. Benecchi
- ORCiD
- Planetary Science Institute , 1700 East Fort Lowell, Suite 106, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
- Alex H. Parker
- ORCiD
- Southwest Research Institute , 1301 Walnut Street, Suite 400, Boulder, CO 80302, USA ; [email protected]
- S. Alan Stern
- ORCiD
- Southwest Research Institute , 1301 Walnut Street, Suite 400, Boulder, CO 80302, USA ; [email protected]
- Michael Belton
- ORCiD
- Belton Space Exploration Initiatives , 430 S. Randolph Way, Tucson, AZ 85716, USA; Emeritus Astronomer, Kitt Peak National Observatory , Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
- Richard P. Binzel
- ORCiD
- Department of Earth , Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- David Borncamp
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute , INS, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- Francesca DeMeo
- ORCiD
- Department of Earth , Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
- S. Fabbro
- ORCiD
- National Research Council of Canada, Herzberg Astronomy & Astrophysics Program , 5071 West Saanich Road, Victoria, BC V9E 2E7, Canada
- Cesar Fuentes
- ORCiD
- Northern Arizona University , Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
- Hisanori Furusawa
- ORCiD
- Astronomy Data Center, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan , Osawa 2-21-1, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan
- Tetsuharu Fuse
- Public Relations Center, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan , Osawa 2-21-1, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan
- Pamela L. Gay
- Southern Illinois University , USA
- Stephen Gwyn
- ORCiD
- National Research Council of Canada, Herzberg Astronomy & Astrophysics Research Centre , 5071 West Saanich Road, Victoria, BC V9E 2E7, Canada
- Matthew J. Holman
- ORCiD
- Center for Astrophysics , Harvard & Smithsonian, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- H. Karoji
- National Astronomical Observatory of Japan , Osawa 2-21-1, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan
- J. J. Kavelaars
- ORCiD
- National Research Council of Canada, Herzberg Astronomy & Astrophysics Research Centre , 5071 West Saanich Road, Victoria, BC V9E 2E7, Canada
- Daisuke Kinoshita
- Institute of Astronomy, National Central University , Jhongli, Taiwan
- Satoshi Miyazaki
- ORCiD
- Subaru Telescope, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan , 650 N Aohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720, USA
- Matt Mountain
- Space Telescope Science Institute , INS, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- Keith S. Noll
- ORCiD
- NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center , 8800 Greenbelt Road, Code 693.0, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- David J. Osip
- ORCiD
- Carnegie Observatories , Las Campanas Observatory, Chile
- Jean-Marc Petit
- ORCiD
- Institut UTINAM UMR6213 , CNRS, OSU Theta F-25000 Besancon, France
- Neill I. Reid
- Space Telescope Science Institute , INS, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- Scott S. Sheppard
- ORCiD
- Earth and Planets Laboratory, Carnegie Institution for Science , 5241 Broad Branch Road NW, Washington, DC 20015, USA
- Mark Showalter
- ORCiD
- SETI Institute , 189 Bernardo Avenue, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
- Andrew J. Steffl
- ORCiD
- Southwest Research Institute , 1301 Walnut Street, Suite 400, Boulder, CO 80302, USA ; [email protected]
- Ray E. Sterner
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory , 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
- Akito Tajitsu
- ORCiD
- Subaru Telescope Okayama Branch, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan , 3037-5, Honjou, Kamogata, Asakuchi, Okayama 719-0232, Japan
- David J. Tholen
- ORCiD
- Institute for Astronomy , 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
- David E. Trilling
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science, Northern Arizona University , P.O. Box 6010, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA; School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University , P.O. Box 5693, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
- Harold A. Weaver
- ORCiD
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory , 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, MD 20723, USA
- Anne J. Verbiscer
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia , Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA
- Lawrence H. Wasserman
- Lowell Observatory , 1400 W Mars Hill Road, Flagstaff, AZ 86001, USA
- Takuji Yamashita
- Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) Project, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan , Osawa 2-21-1, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan
- Toshifumi Yanagisawa
- Chofu Headquarters, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency , Jindaiji Higashimachi 7-44-1, Chofu, Tokyo 182-0012, Japan
- Fumi Yoshida
- ORCiD
- School of Medicine, Department of Basic Sciences, University of Occupational and Environmental Health , 1-1 Iseigaoka, Yahata, Kitakyusyu, Fukuoka 807-8555, Japan; Planetary Exploration Research Center, Chiba Institute of Technology , 2-17-1 Tsudanuma, Narashino, Chiba 275-0016, Japan
- Amanda M. Zangari
- Southwest Research Institute , 1301 Walnut Street, Suite 400, Boulder, CO 80302, USA ; [email protected]
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ad676d
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 5,
no. 9
p. 196
Abstract
Following the Pluto flyby of the New Horizons spacecraft, the mission provided a unique opportunity to explore the Kuiper Belt in situ. The possibility existed to fly by a Kuiper Belt object (KBO), as well as to observe additional objects at distances closer than are feasible from Earth-orbit facilities. However, at the time of launch no KBOs were known about that were accessible by the spacecraft. In this paper we present the results of 10 yr of observations and three uniquely dedicated efforts—two ground-based using the Subaru Suprime Camera, the Magellan MegaCam and IMACS Cameras, and one with the Hubble Space Telescope—to find such KBOs for study. In this paper we overview the search criteria and strategies employed in our work and detail the analysis efforts to locate and track faint objects in the Galactic plane. We also present a summary of all of the KBOs that were discovered as part of our efforts and how spacecraft targetability was assessed, including a detailed description of our astrometric analysis, which included development of an extensive secondary calibration network. Overall, these efforts resulted in the discovery of 85 KBOs, including 11 that became objects for distant observation by New Horizons and (486958) Arrokoth, which became the first post-Pluto flyby destination.
Keywords
