Projeto Observacional para 2016B - SO2016B-005

Autor: Julio Ignacio Bueno de Camargo
Instituição: ON
e-mail: camargo@on.br

Co-autores:
Roberto Vieira Martins
Felipe B. Ribas
Marcelo Assafin
Jose Luiz Ortiz
Rene Duffard
B. Sicardy
Leonardo Vanzi
Rodrigo Leiva
Gustavo Benedetti Rossi

Título: ToO - Stellar Occultations of distant solar system bodies in the GAIA era

Resumo: Trans-neptunian objects (TNOs) are pristine bodies in our solar system, as well as collisional and dynamical remnants of an evolved planetesimal disk of its outskirts . Therefore, TNOs are keys to understand the history and evolution of the outer solar system. Their study through the stellar occultation technique allows the determination of shapes/sizes with kilometric accuracy (leading to densities and albedos), the detection of tenuous atmospheres (like that of Pluto), and an investigation of the vicinity of the target body (rings, jets, satellites). We propose to use our visitor fast readout EMCCD camera, installed at SOAR, to sample stellar occultations with high SNR and high temporal resolution. Main goals are: monitor Chariklo's rings; a follow-up of Pluto's atmosphere; and also to detect events by other TNOs and Centaurs. Profiting from more reliable predictions of occultation events with the near first release of the GAIA astrometric results, we request 4h (12h with payback) in ToO mode. That would allow us to observe up to 4 events in 2016B, triggered 1-2 weeks beforehand.