``Lost'' TNOs and Centaurs

Although feedback has indicated that observers would find such a reference useful, people have not submitted reports, partly because of time constraints. This page is now effectively ``inactive'' until new interest is generated, and perhaps the format is made easier for submission.

However, this page is retained as an example of its past use.

The objects are listed in order of their designations, and details of the failed recovery attempts are given as a guide to observers for additional attempts. For example, if from the list below it seems likely that a given observation went faint enough that it should have seen the object, then an observer may want to try new observations ahead or behind the nominal track. (Of course, there is the possibility that the quoted limiting magnitudes are incorrect, or that the object was in the field but obscured by a star or galaxy, or the quoted coordinates are incorrect, etc.; so providing accurate information is essential.)

A simple template is available to report the information.

Additional information about current uncertainties of orbits can be obtained from Marc Buie's KBO Followup page, including this list of

Notes on table:

Position of Field

Position relative to the nominal ephemeris published by the Minor Planet Center, e.g., centered (the field was centered on the nominal position), 10 arcmin east, etc.

Limiting Magnitude

The contributing observer's estimate of the effective limiting magnitude that they should have been able to recover a moving object. This definition certainly varies from observer to observer, and is the largest uncertainty when trying to establish if an object actually should have been found or not.

Observer (with e-mail link) and Notes

This information is optionally provided by the contributing observer. In particular, the Notes can contain a link providing more details about the observations. Observers are strongly encouraged to provide as thorough details as possible for each observation. If possible, use this template to report your information.