Detecting Interstellar Objects Through Stellar Occultations

Abstract

Stellar occultations have been used to search for Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud objects. We propose a search for interstellar objects based on the characteristic durations ($\sim 0.1\mathrm{s}$) of their stellar occultation signals and high inclination relative to the ecliptic plane. An all-sky monitoring program of all $\sim 7\times 10^6$ stars with $R\lesssim 12.5$ using 1-m telescopes with $0.1\mathrm{s}$ cadences is predicted to discover $\sim 1$ interstellar object per year.

arXiv comment5 pages, 4 figures, 1 table; accepted for publication in ApJL

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Cited by in corpus (3)

• Stellar occultations by Trans-Neptunian Objects
• Interstellar Objects Outnumber Solar System Objects in the Oort Cloud
• Chasing Nomadic Worlds: A New Class of Deep Space Missions