Successful research. Astronomers have discovered over 100 new trans-Neptune objects

By analyzing data from the Dark Energy Survey, researchers found more than 300 Trans-Neptune Objects (TNOs) in remote regions of the Solar System, far beyond Neptune's orbit. Over 100 of them are objects previously unknown.

Interestingly, the purpose of the DES review is to understand the nature of dark energy by taking very precise photos of the southern sky. It is on them that researchers search for distant galaxies. However, as it turns out, the accuracy of images also allows you to observe many objects much closer to them, located inside our planetary system.

Because DES was designed to study galaxies and supernovae, researchers had to develop a new method to track the movement of observed objects.

During the search for trans-Neptune objects, telescopes took measurements every hour or two, so they could record objects of the Solar System moving against the stars.

Focusing on data from the first four years of the DES review, researchers began with a database of 7 billion points, potential objects that protruded above the background level in the pictures. Then all objects visible in the same place during different nights were removed from the database, i.e. stars, galaxies and supernovae. In this way, a database of 22 million transitional facilities was created. At this point, scientists attempted to search for pairs or triplets of objects that are close to each other and connect them with lines that would actually indicate the movement of objects in the sky.

When 7 billion dots were reduced to about 400 objects that were observed over at least 6 observation nights, researchers began verifying the results obtained.

With the list of potential objects in hand, we had to make sure that they are actually real objects, 'says Pedro Bernardinelli, a student at the University of Pennsylvania and lead author of the discovery.

To narrow down the list of potential TNOs to real objects, scientists returned to the original database to try to find more photos containing individual objects.

Suppose we found an object in the data that we observed during six different observation nights. However, we observed the same fragment of the sky for 25 nights. We must therefore check whether the potential object is also on them has only been screened at an earlier stage of analysis - says prof. Gary Bernstein.

After months of specifying the method and analyzing photos, researchers found 316 trans-neptune objects, including 245 discovered by DES and 139 new objects never seen before.

Considering that we currently know about 3,000 such objects, the catalog of TNO objects discovered in the DES catalog constitutes 10 percent. all TNOs.

Pluto, the most known trans-Neptune object, is 40 times farther from the Sun than Earth, and TNO objects found in the DES survey data are within 30 to 90 times farther from the Sun than Earth.

Now, after completing the 6-year DES review, researchers are repeating their analysis across the entire DES catalog covering six years of observation. We can therefore expect more new TNO facilities. According to some, our catalogs may soon include up to 500 such objects.

The method developed by Bernardinelli will be able to be used to search for trans-neptun objects also in subsequent astronomical surveys, e.g. in the upcoming review at the Very C. Rubin Observatory. As part of this review, telescopes will be able to detect even weaker and distant objects than DES.

Successful research. Astronomers have discovered over 100 new trans-Neptune objects