Asteroid Occultations with VERITAS: Observations and Considerations

TL;DR

This paper discusses VERITAS's program to observe asteroid occultations, which allows precise measurement of stellar diameters and has potential to inform models of solar system formation through occultations of TNOs.

Contribution

It presents the implementation, results, and future plans of VERITAS's asteroid occultation observation program, including detection methods and potential scientific impacts.

Findings

Successfully observed 20 occultations out of 100 attempted.

Measured smallest angular diameters of stars between magnitude 9 and 13.

Potential to constrain solar system formation models through TNO occultation observations.

Abstract

Occultations, the covering up of one celestial body by another celestial body, have been used in astronomy for millennia to learn about the sun and moon. Since 2018, VERITAS has implemented a program to detect predicted asteroid occultations, where an asteroid covers up a star. VERITAS has attempted to observe over 100 occultations to date and successfully observed 20 occultations. With these occultations, VERITAS can directly measure the smallest angular diameters of any instrument or technique in the optical for stars between magnitude 9 and 13. Each angular diameter is measured by fitting the diffraction pattern observed by the central VERITAS pixel at the start and end of an occultation. Once a planned FADC upgrade is complete, VERITAS will begin a program to search for serendipitous occultations within its full field of view (3 deg). Serendipitous occultations of sub-km trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) have the potential to constrain models of solar system formation. This work details how VERITAS predicts and observes occultations as well as the overall status of the asteroid occultation program and future steps for observing occultations of both asteroids and TNOs.