Mony a Mickle Maks a Muckle: Minor Body Observations with Optical Telescopes of All Sizes

TL;DR

This paper reviews the capabilities of telescopes of various sizes in studying minor bodies of the Solar System, emphasizing the complementary roles of small and large telescopes and the future potential of Extremely Large Telescopes.

Contribution

It identifies key areas where next-generation ELTs are needed and highlights the ongoing importance of small telescopes for large-scale surveys of minor Solar System bodies.

Findings

ELTs will enable discovery of smaller and more distant objects

Large telescopes will characterize and resolve larger bodies and systems

Small telescopes remain essential for wide surveys

Abstract

I review the current capabilities of small, medium and large telescopes in the study of minor bodies of the Solar System (MBOSS), with the goal of identifying those areas where the next generation of Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs) are required to progress. This also leads to a discussion of the synergies between large and small telescopes. It is clear that the new facilities that will become available in the next decades will allow us to discover smaller and more distant objects (completing size distributions) and to characterise and even resolve larger individual bodies and multiple systems, however we must also recognise that there is still much to be learned from wide surveys that require more time on more telescopes than can ever be available on ELTs. Smaller telescopes are still required to discover and characterise large samples of MBOSS.