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P. Rousselot, F. Lombard, G. Moreels (Observatoire de Besanceon)
We present the results obtained with a new program dedicated to the automatic detection of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) with standard sets of images obtained in the same field of view. This program has the key advantage, when compared to other similar softwares, of being designed to be used with one of the main astronomical data processing package; the Munich Image Data Analysis System (MIDAS) developped by The European Southern Observatory (ESO). It is available freely from the World Wide Web server of the Observatory of Besançon (http://www.obs-besancon/www/ publi/philippe/tno.html).
This program has been tested with observational data collected with the UH 8k CCD mosaic Camera, used during two nights, on October 25 and 26, 1997, at the prime focus of the CFH telescope (Mauna Kea, Hawaii). The purpose of these observational data was to detect new TNOs and a previous analysis conducted by the classical method of blinking, had lead to a first detection of a new TNO. This object appears close to the detection limit of the images (i.e. to the 24th magnitude) and presents an unsual orbital inclination (i~q33\circ). It has allowed the efficient and successful testing of the program to detect faint moving objects, demonstrating its ability to detect the objects close to the sky background noise with a very limited number of false detections.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: philippe@obs-besancon.fr