Artist’s conception of a loosely tethered binary planetoid pair like
those studied by Fraser et al. in this work which led to the conclusion
that Neptune’s shepherding of them to the Kuiper Belt as gradual and
gentle in nature. Credit: Gemini Observatoryy/AURA, artwork by Joy Pollard.
Full resolution JPEG | TIFF
The Gemini North telescope (foreground, right) with the
Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope in background (left). Image obtained
during observations for Col-OSSOS and both telescopes are pointing at
the same target.Credit: Gemini Observatory/AURA, photo by Joy Pollard. Full resolution JPEG | TIFF
"It’s a kinder, gentler Neptune," says Gemini astronomer Meg Schwamb in
describing a new result that leaves little doubt about how Neptune
gently swept a class of planetoid pairs into the outer Solar System.
The study focused on a type of loosely bound pairs of planetoids in the
outer reaches of our Solar System that scientists say were likely
shepherded by Neptune’s gravitational nudges into their current orbits
in the distant Kuiper Belt. The paper is published in the April 4th issue of the journal Nature Astronomy (subscription required).
The research team, led by Wes Fraser of Queen’s University in Belfast,
UK, used data collected from the Gemini North Frederick C. Gillett
Telescope and Canada-France Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) both on Maunakea in
Hawai‘i. The team measured the colors of peculiar new Cold Classical
Kuiper Belt Object (CCKBO) pairs as part of the Colours of the Outer
Solar System Origins Survey (Col-OSSOS).
The objects are among a category of bodies known as "blue binaries"
which are oddball pairs in the Kuiper Belt because they don’t share the
very red color that distinguishes most of the other CCKBO’s surfaces.
The Kuiper Belt is a huge swarm of icy small planetoids well beyond the
orbit of Neptune, and left-over from the formation of our Solar System.
It is believed that the blue binaries migrated from more inward parts of
the Solar System out to the present-day Kuiper Belt. It is thought that
this migration occurred several billion years ago during profound
changes to the orbits of the outer planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and
Neptune.
"The red CCKBOs are thought to have formed at the location in the outer
Solar System where they currently reside. The blue binaries, on the
other hand, are interlopers from closer in hiding out in the Kuiper belt
today," says Schwamb, who is also a coauthor on the study.
Fraser and his team compared the observed properties of the blue
binaries to models of Neptune’s migration. Fraser found that although
these blue binaries have such a tenuous gravitational embrace, these
pairs can survive Neptune’s smoothly pushing them over a distance of at
least four AU (four times the distance between the Earth and Sun) as the
giant planet migrated outward. "The blue binaries are fossils from the
long gone planetary disk that our planets formed from. These objects
give us a unique new window into the history of the our Solar System,"
Schwamb adds.
"This research has opened the window to new aspects of understanding the
early stages of planet growth,” concludes Fraser. “We now have a solid
handle on how and where these blue binaries originated."
Chris Davis, Program Officer at the U.S. National Science Foundation,
one of the five partner organizations which support Gemini operations,
notes that "This is another great example of the successful use of one
of Gemini’s many versatile observing modes. The observatory’s Large and
Long Program has allowed the team to find and study these enigmatic
objects in amongst a sea of millions of other Kuiper Belt Objects."
The Gemini/CFHT observations help address ongoing questions and debates
among scientists about Neptune’s migration from its primordial formation
orbital location to its current locale. The team found and
characterized the peculiar blue binary objects thanks to CFHT MEGACAM
data and confirmed by follow-up observations with the Gemini
Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) which was part of an ongoing Large and
Long Program at Gemini to study the outer reaches of our Solar System.
The observations required significant coordination between Gemini and
CFHT. "Like synchronized swimming, Gemini North and the
Canada-France-Hawaii telescopes aligned their movements to observe the
Col-OSSOS Kuiper Belt objects at nearly the same time," said Schwamb.
"This choreographed ballet on Maunakea allowed us to measure the light
from the same side of the Kuiper Belt object, removing one of the main
challenges in studying Solar System bodies that rotate."
"Facilitating the simultaneous observations with the Col-OSSOS team and
Gemini Observatory was challenging, but paved the way for a greater
understanding of the origins of these blue binaries," said Todd
Burdullis, Queued Service Operations Specialist at CFHT who helped to
coordinate the observations. "In tandem, the two facilities observed all
the colors of the outer solar system for the Col-OSSOS team."
Queen's University Belfast's press release can be found here.
Science Contacts:
-
Wesley Fraser
Col-OSSOS Principal Investigator
Queen's University, Belfast, UK
Email: wes.fraser@qub.ac.uk
Office: +44 (0) 74 02 46 21 34
Cell: +44 074 024 621 34 -
Meg Schwamb
Gemini Observatory
Hilo, Hawai‘i
Email: mschwamb@gemini.edu
Office: 808 074-2593
Cell: 808 315-8014 -
Michele Bannister
Col-OSSOS collaborator
OSSOS Core member
Queen's University Belfast
Email: m.bannister@qub.ac.uk
Phone: +44 074 555 471 79 -
JJ Kavelaars
Col-OSSOS collaborator
OSSOS Co-PI
Herzberg Institute, Victoria, BC, Canada
Email: jjk@uvic.ca
Phone: +1 778 677 3131
Media Contact:
-
-
Peter Michaud
Public Information and Outreach Manager
Gemini Observatory
Hilo, Hawai‘i
Email: pmichaud@gemini.edu
Desk: 808 974-2510
Cell: 808 936-6643 -
Mary Beth Laychak
Outreach Manager
Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope
Email: mary@cfht.hawaii.edu
Phone: 808 885-3121 -
Emma Gallagher
Communications Officer
Queen's University, Belfast, UK
Email: emma.gallagher@qub.ac.uk
Phone: 028 9097 5384
Source: Gemini Observatory -
Peter Michaud
