Related papers: Photometric Light Curve for the Kuiper Belt Object…
We present measurements at optical wavelengths of the spectral reflectance, rotational light curve, and solar phase curve of 2003 EL61. With apparent visual magnitude 17.5 at 51 AU from the sun, this newly discovered member of the classical…
We report high precision photometry of three small and one larger Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) obtained with the Advanced Camera for Surveys onboard the Hubble Space Telescope (ACS/HST). The three small bodies are the smallest KBOs for which…
Extensive time-resolved observations of Kuiper Belt object 2001 QG298 show a lightcurve with a peak-to-peak variation of 1.14 +-0.04 magnitudes and single-peaked period of 6.8872 +- 0.0002 hr. The mean absolute magnitude is 6.85 magnitudes…
We present high precision, time-resolved visible and near infrared photometry of the large (diameter ~ 2500 km) Kuiper belt object (136108) 2003 EL61. The new data confirm rapid rotation at period P = 3.9155+/-0.0001 hr with a peak-to-peak…
We investigate what can be learned about a population of distant KBOs by studying the statistical properties of their light curves. Whereas others have successfully inferred the properties of individual, highly variable KBOs, we show that…
New observations show that the lightcurve of Kuiper belt contact binary (139775) 2001 QG298 has changed substantially since the first observations in 2003. The 2010 lightcurve has a peak-to-peak photometric of range \Deltam{2010}=0.7\pm0.1…
(Abridged) I report new light curves and determine the rotations and phase functions of several large Kuiper Belt objects, including the dwarf planet Eris (2003 UB313). (120348) 2004 TY364 shows a light curve which if double-peaked has a…
We present a statistical study of the detectability of lightcurves of Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs). Some Kuiper Belt objects display lightcurves that appear "flat", i.e., there are no significant brightness variations within the photometric…
Recent stellar occultations have allowed accurate instantaneous size and apparent shape determinations of the large Kuiper belt object (50000)~Quaoar and the detection of two rings with spatially variable optical depths. In this paper we…
The Kuiper Belt (KB) region of the solar system, stretching from 30 to at least 50 AU, contains Pluto-Charon, some ~105 Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) larger than 100 km in diameter, and myriad smaller bodies produced by collisions among KBOs…
We investigate the constraints that Olbers Paradox, applied to the Zodiacal Background as measured from space, sets on outer solar system objects. If extended to very faint limits, R = 40--50 mag, the steep optical luminosity function (LF)…
Here we present the results of visible range light curve observations of ten Centaurs using the Kepler Space Telescope in the framework of the K2 mission. Well defined periodic light curves are obtained in six cases allowing us to derive…
In this contribution two papers on the BL Lac object PKS 2155-304 are presented. They are based on our program of systematic intensive optical monitoring in search of fast variability events. In the first paper the results of a CCD…
We study the long term Kepler light curve of the blazar W2R 1926+42 ($\sim$ 1.6 years) which indicates a variety of variability properties during different intervals of observation. The normalized excess variance, $F_{\rm var}$ ranges from…
We use optical data on 10 Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) to investigate their rotational properties. Of the 10, three (30%) exhibit light variations with amplitude delta_m >= 0.15 mag, and 1 out of 10 (10%) has delta_m >= 0.40 mag, which is in…
We present here the analysis of about 19,500 new star hours of low ecliptic latitude observations (|b| < 20 deg) obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope's FGS over a time span of more than nine years; which is an addition to the 12,000 star…
We present a survey for bright Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) and Centaurs, conducted at the Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) 0.9 m telescope with the KPNO 8k Mosaic CCD. The survey imaged 164 sq deg near opposition to a limiting red…
We have performed an ecliptic imaging survey of the Kuiper belt with our deepest and widest field achieving a limiting flux of m(g') = 26.4, with a sky coverage of 3.0 square-degrees. This is the largest coverage of any other Kuiper belt…
We present the results of a pencil-beam survey of the Kuiper Belt using the Keck 10-m telescope. A single 0.01 square degree field is imaged 29 times for a total integration time of 4.8 hr. Combining exposures in software allows the…
There are several observational campaigns under way to detect kilometer size foreground Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) through their occultation of background stars. The interpretation of an occultation light curve, unfortunately, is affected…