TAOS: The Taiwanese-American Occultation Survey

TAOS: The Taiwanese–American Occultation Survey is a robotic survey of the Outer Solar System. TAOS uses an array of four 50 cm aperture telescopes to monitor background stars awaiting the alignment of an Outer Solar System with a star target: an occultation. Small objects in the Outer Solar System that are too small to be observed by direct observations at this time can be probed with this technique. Occultation

Occultation

An occultation is an event that occurs when one object is hidden by another object that passes between it and the observer. The word is used in astronomy . It can also refer to any situation wherein an object in the foreground blocks from view an object in the background...

surveys take advantage of diffraction

Diffraction

Diffraction refers to various phenomena which occur when a wave encounters an obstacle. Italian scientist Francesco Maria Grimaldi coined the word "diffraction" and was the first to record accurate observations of the phenomenon in 1665...

effects during the transit of the occulting object (the occulter) in front of a background star to constraint the size and distance of the occulter. TAOS is sensitive to occultations by Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) larger than about 500 m in diameter and to Sedna

Sedna

Sedna may refer to:*Sedna, the Inuit goddess of the sea*90377 Sedna, an object in the Sun's far outer Solar System discovered in 2003*Sedna, a native XML database-See also:*Sétna Airt, son of Artrí, son of Éber, son of Ír, son of Míl Espáine...

-like objects.

The TAOS telescopes are located in Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

, at the Lulin Observatory

Lulin Observatory

Lulin Observatory is an astronomical observatory operated by the Institute of Astronomy, National Central University in Taiwan.It is located at the summit of Mount Lulin, on the border of Chiayi County and Nantou County, near Yushan National Park...

in Yushan

Yushan

-Mainland China:* Yushan County , a county of Shangrao City in the northeast of Jiangxi* Yushan District , Ma'anshan, AnhuiTowns* Yushan, Jinxiang County , in Jinxiang County, ShandongWritten as "玉山镇":* Yushan, Jian'ou, in Jian'ou City, Fujian...

national park.

TAOS is a joint effort of Academia Sinica

Academia Sinica

The Academia Sinica , headquartered in the Nangang District of Taipei, is the national academy of Taiwan. It supports research activities in a wide variety of disciplines, ranging from mathematical and physical sciences, to life sciences, and to humanities and social sciences.Academia Sinica has...

, Institute of Astronomy & Astrophysics, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

The Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics is one of the largest and most diverse astrophysical institutions in the world, where scientists carry out a broad program of research in astronomy, astrophysics, earth and space sciences, and science education...

, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory , just outside Livermore, California, is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center founded by the University of California in 1952...

, The Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, National Central University

National Central University

National Central University is a national comprehensive university in Taiwan .National Central University was founded in 1915 and originated in 258 CE at Nanjing, China. After NCU in Nanjing was renamed Nanjing University in 1949, NCU was re-established in Taiwan in 1962...

, Institute of Astronomy and Yonsei University

Yonsei University

Yonsei University is a Christian private research university, located in Seoul, South Korea. Established in 1885, it is one of the oldest universities in South Korea, the top private comprehensive universities in South Korea, and is widely regarded as one of the top three comprehensive...

, South Korea.

External links

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