Opportunities for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope to Find New L$_5$ Trojan and Hilda Lucy Encounter Targets

TL;DR

This paper discusses how the LSST can identify new L$_5$ Trojan and Hilda targets for the Lucy mission, enhancing scientific understanding of Trojan diversity and planetary history.

Contribution

It evaluates the potential for LSST to discover additional L$_5$ targets for Lucy, aiming to maximize the mission's scientific return by expanding known Trojan populations.

Findings

LSST is expected to detect nearly 300,000 Jupiter Trojans.

Potential to identify new L$_5$ targets for Lucy.

Enhanced understanding of Trojan diversity and evolution.

Abstract

The Trojan clouds contain a surprisingly diverse population of objects. It is only by understanding this diversity can we unravel their history. The more objects Lucy visits the better we can constrain the formation and evolution of the giant planets. While Lucy will visit four Trojans in the L$_4$ cloud, its trajectory only passes one known Trojan system, the PM binary, in L$_5$. There is ample time in the Lucy timeline to possibly add additional L$_5$ targets, thereby maximizing the mission's science return. In the next decade, the 8.4-m Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), is expected to detect nearly 300,000 Jupiter Trojans between approximately 16 and 24.5 r-band magnitudes in the $\sim$18,000 deg$^2$ main survey and the expected $\sim$4,000 deg$^2$ northern ecliptic extension. We explore potential opportunities for LSST to find new Lucy L$_5$ fly-by targets.