In this paper we investigate the opportunities provided by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) for significant scientific advances in the study of solar system bodies and rings using stellar occultations. The strengths and weaknesses of the stellar occultation technique are evaluated in light of JWST's unique capabilities. We identify several possible JWST occultation events by minor bodies and rings, and evaluate their potential scientific value. These predictions depend critically on accurate a priori knowledge of the orbit of JWST near the Sun-Earth Lagrange-point 2 (L2). We also explore the possibility of serendipitous stellar occultations by very small minor bodies as a by-product of other JWST observing programs. Finally, to optimize the potential scientific return of stellar occultation observations, we identify several characteristics of JWST's orbit and instrumentation that should be taken into account during JWST's development.
@article{arxiv.1510.06575,
title = {JWST observations of stellar occultations by solar system bodies and rings},
author = {P. Santos-Sanz and R. G. French and N. Pinilla-Alonso and J. Stansberry and Z-Y. Lin and Z-W. Zhang and E. Vilenius and Th. Müller and J. L. Ortiz and F. Braga-Ribas and A. Bosh and R. Duffard and E. Lellouch and G. Tancredi and L. Young and S. N. Milam and the JWST occultations focus group.},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1510.06575},
year = {2016}
}
Comments
This paper is one of a series for a special issue on Solar System observations with JWST in PASP. Accepted 2-Oct-2015. Preprint 30 pages, 5 tables, 8 figures