Authors
Chadwick A Trujillo, David C Jewitt, Jane X Luu
Publication date
2001/7/1
Journal
The Astronomical Journal
Volume
122
Issue
1
Pages
457
Publisher
IOP Publishing
Description
We present the results of a wide-field survey designed to measure the size, inclination, and radial distributions of Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs). The survey found 86 KBOs in 73 deg 2 observed to limiting red magnitude of 23.7 using the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope and the 12K× 8K CCD mosaic camera. For the first time, both ecliptic and off-ecliptic fields were examined to more accurately constrain the inclination distribution of the KBOs. The survey data were processed using an automatic moving-object detection algorithm, allowing a careful characterization of the biases involved. In this work, we quantify fundamental parameters of the classical KBOs (CKBOs), the most numerous objects found in our sample, using the new data and a maximum likelihood simulation. Deriving results from our best-fit model, we find that the size distribution follows a differential power law with exponent q= 4.0 (1 σ, or 68.27 …
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