A stellar occultation by the transneptunian object (50000) Quaoar observed by CHEOPS
Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2022
Context. Stellar occultation is a powerful technique that allows the determination of some physical parameters of the occulting object. The result depends on the photometric accuracy, the temporal resolution, and the number of chords obtained. Space telescopes can achieve high photometric accuracy as they are not affected by atmospheric scintillation. Aims. Using ESA's CHEOPS space telescope, we observed a stellar occultation by the transneptunian object (50000) Quaoar. We compare the obtained chord with previous occultations by this object and determine its astrometry with sub-milliarcsecond precision. Also, we determine upper limits to the presence of a global methane atmosphere on the occulting body. Methods. We predicted and observed a stellar occultation by Quaoar using the CHEOPS space telescope. We measured the occultation light curve from this dataset and determined the dis- and reappearance of the star behind the occulting body. Furthermore, a ground-based telescope in Australia was used to constrain Quaoar's limb. Combined with results from previous works, these measurements allowed us to obtain a precise position of Quaoar at the occultation time. Results. We present the results obtained from the first stellar occultation by a transneptunian object using a space telescope orbiting Earth; it was the occultation by Quaoar observed on 2020 June 11. We used the CHEOPS light curve to obtain a surface pressure upper limit of 85 nbar for the detection of a global methane atmosphere. Also, combining this observation with a ground-based observation, we fitted Quaoar's limb to determine its astrometric position with an uncertainty below 1.0 mas. Conclusions. This observation is the first of its kind, and it shall be considered as a proof of concept of stellar occultation observations of transneptunian objects with space telescopes orbiting Earth. Moreover, it shows significant prospects for the James Webb Space Telescope.
minor planets, asteroids: individual: Quaoar
techniques: photometric
methods: observational
occultations
Författare
B. E. Morgado
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ)
Lab Interinst E Astron LIneA
Observatorio Nacional
G. Bruno
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
A. R. Gomes-Junior
Lab Interinst E Astron LIneA
Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP)
Federal University of Uberlândia
I Pagano
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
B. Sicardy
Université Paris Descartes
A. Fortier
Universität Bern
J. Desmars
Institut Polytechnique des Sciences Avancées (IPSA)
Université de Lille
P. F. L. Maxted
Keele University
F. Braga-Ribas
Lab Interinst E Astron LIneA
Observatorio Nacional
Universidade Tecnologica Federal do Parana
D. Queloz
University of Cambridge
Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH)
S. G. Sousa
Universidade do Porto
J. L. Ortiz
Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucía (IAA)
A. Brandeker
Stockholms universitet
A. Collier Cameron
University of St Andrews
C. L. Pereira
Lab Interinst E Astron LIneA
Observatorio Nacional
H. G. Floren
Stockholms universitet
N. Hara
Université de Genève
D. Souami
Université Paris Descartes
Laboratoire Joseph-Louis Lagrange
University of Namur
K. G. Isaak
European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESA ESTEC)
G. Olofsson
Stockholms universitet
P. Santos-Sanz
Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucía (IAA)
T. G. Wilson
University of St Andrews
J. Broughton
Reedy Creek Observatory
Trans Tasman Occultat Alliance TTOA
Y. Alibert
Universität Bern
R. Alonso
Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias
Universidad de la Laguna
G. Anglada
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Institut d'Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC)
T. Barczy
Admatis
D. Barrado
Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC)
S. C. C. Barros
Universidade do Porto
W. Baumjohann
Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften
M. Beck
Université de Genève
T. Beck
Universität Bern
W. Benz
Universität Bern
N. Billot
Université de Genève
X. Bonfils
Université Grenoble Alpes
C. Broeg
Universität Bern
J. Cabrera
Deutsches Zentrums für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR)
S. Charnoz
Université Paris Descartes
S. Csizmadia
Deutsches Zentrums für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR)
M. B. Davies
Lunds universitet
M. Deleuil
Aix-Marseille Université
L. Delrez
Universite de Liège
O. D. S. Demangeon
Universidade do Porto
B. O. Demory
Universität Bern
D. Ehrenreich
Université de Genève
A. Erikson
Deutsches Zentrums für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR)
L. Fossati
Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften
Malcolm Fridlund
Chalmers, Rymd-, geo- och miljövetenskap, Astronomi och plasmafysik
D. Gandolfi
Universita degli Studi di Torino
M. Gillon
Universite de Liège
M. Gudel
Universität Wien
K. Heng
Universität Bern
The University of Warwick
S. Hoyer
Aix-Marseille Université
L. L. Kiss
Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE)
Magyar Tudomanyos Akademia
J. Laskar
Sorbonne Université
A. Lecavelier des Etangs
Sorbonne Université
M. Lendl
Université de Genève
C. Lovis
Université de Genève
D. Magrin
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
L. Marafatto
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
V Nascimbeni
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
R. Ottensamer
Universität Wien
E. Palle
Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias
G. Peter
Deutsches Zentrums für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR)
D. Piazza
Universität Bern
G. Piotto
Università di Padova
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
D. Pollacco
The University of Warwick
R. Ragazzoni
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
Università di Padova
N. Rando
Europeiska rymdorganisationen (ESA)
F. Ratti
Europeiska rymdorganisationen (ESA)
H. Rauer
Technische Universität Berlin
Freie Universität Berlin
Deutsches Zentrums für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR)
C. Reimers
Universität Wien
I Ribas
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Institut d'Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC)
N. C. Santos
Universidade do Porto
G. Scandariato
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
D. Segransan
Université de Genève
A. E. Simon
Universität Bern
A. M. S. Smith
Deutsches Zentrums für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR)
M. Steller
Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften
G. M. Szabo
Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE)
N. Thomas
Universität Bern
S. Udry
Université de Genève
V. Van Grootel
Universite de Liège
N. A. Walton
University of Cambridge
K. Westerdorff
Deutsches Zentrums für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR)
Astronomy and Astrophysics
0004-6361 (ISSN) 1432-0746 (eISSN)
Vol. 664 L15Satellitstudier av exoplaneters mångfald
Rymdstyrelsen (174/18), 2019-02-04 -- 2023-08-01.
Ämneskategorier
Astronomi, astrofysik och kosmologi
Annan fysik
Datorseende och robotik (autonoma system)
DOI
10.1051/0004-6361/202244221