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RTMENT OF ASTRONOMY
21 February 1978 '^£*&
Mr. Charles T. Kowal
Department of Astrophysics
Robinson Lab
California Institute of Technology
Pasadena, CA 91125
Dear Mr. Kowal:
I have intended to write to you for sometime, and to congratulate you on
the very important discovery of Chiron. This discovery emphasizes the
potential of finding other similar objects revolving in orbits around the
sun in the giant planet regions. Whether these be large asteroidal bodies
or huge cometary nuclei is of the greatest importance regarding the
structure and origin of the solar system-, also for the 'cocoon' stage of
protostars.
For a long time, I have been interested in this problem. During the 14
years when I was conducting the systematic search for Trans-Neptunian
planets, I overlapped the plate regions enough and maintained a sharp lookout for these smaller bodies beyond the orbit of Saturn. In fact, the
original title of my report was "The Trans-Saturnian Planet Search," but
Kuiper wanted to change it to "The Trans-Neptunian Planet Search" as it
appears in-Chapter 2 of Volume III Planets and Satellites, published by
the University of Chicago Press in 1961.
I made my search of the Zodiac Belt during 1929 and 1930, when Chiron was
far from perihelion. Evidently, it was just barely beyond my reach. The
following years were on higher ecliptic latitudes.
I have very few reprints left of this report. Feeling that you deserved
a copy, one is enclosed for your retention. My report describes the method
and technique in conducting a systematic search of this kind. I hope that
I can entice you to make a similar systematic search to a limit, two
magnitudes fainter than I could. The 122-cm Palomar Schmidt is the best
instrument in the world for this purpose. Another advantage is your
experience with photographic plates.
It is important, of course, to photograph the regions of the Zodiac Belt
close to their 'opposition point' to avoid uncertainties of the intra-Jupiter
asteroids near their apparent stationary points. At opposition, one has the
full tangential vector of the Earth's orbital motion; thereby permitting an
immediate indication of distance. Also, one should always have a third plate
taken within the same week for confirmation.
Object Description
| Title | Kowal, Charles T., 1978 |
| Series | NMSU Astronomy Department, Box 090, Folder 002 |
| Creator | Tombaugh, Clyde William, 1906-1997; Kowal, Charles T. |
| Subject | Chiron (Asteroid); Discoveries in science; Astronomy--Observations; Tombaugh, Clyde William, 1906-1997; Report writing; Photography--Plates; Blink comparators; Lectures; Thank-you notes |
| Relevant Names | California Institute of Technology; New Mexico State University. Astronomy Department |
| Digital Publisher | New Mexico State University Library |
| Collection | NMSU Department of Astronomy: Clyde W. Tombaugh Papers |
| Source | Scan produced from physical item held by the NMSU Library Archives & Special Collections Department |
| Type | Text |
| Format | image/tiff |
| Language | eng |
Page Description
| Title | Page 1 |
| Series | NMSU Astronomy Department, Box 090, Folder 002 |
| Creator | Tombaugh, Clyde William, 1906-1997 |
| Subject | Chiron (Asteroid); Discoveries in science; Astronomy--Observations; Tombaugh, Clyde William, 1906-1997; Report writing; Photography--Plates |
| Relevant Names | California Institute of Technology |
| Date Original | 1978-02-21 |
| Digital Publisher | New Mexico State University Library |
| Collection | NMSU Department of Astronomy: Clyde W. Tombaugh Papers |
| Digital Identifier | Ms0407pp090002_0010001.tif |
| Source | Scan produced from physical item held by the NMSU Library Archives & Special Collections Department |
| Type | Text |
| Format | image/tiff |
| Language | eng |
| OCR | RTMENT OF ASTRONOMY 21 February 1978 '^£*& Mr. Charles T. Kowal Department of Astrophysics Robinson Lab California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA 91125 Dear Mr. Kowal: I have intended to write to you for sometime, and to congratulate you on the very important discovery of Chiron. This discovery emphasizes the potential of finding other similar objects revolving in orbits around the sun in the giant planet regions. Whether these be large asteroidal bodies or huge cometary nuclei is of the greatest importance regarding the structure and origin of the solar system-, also for the 'cocoon' stage of protostars. For a long time, I have been interested in this problem. During the 14 years when I was conducting the systematic search for Trans-Neptunian planets, I overlapped the plate regions enough and maintained a sharp lookout for these smaller bodies beyond the orbit of Saturn. In fact, the original title of my report was "The Trans-Saturnian Planet Search" but Kuiper wanted to change it to "The Trans-Neptunian Planet Search" as it appears in-Chapter 2 of Volume III Planets and Satellites, published by the University of Chicago Press in 1961. I made my search of the Zodiac Belt during 1929 and 1930, when Chiron was far from perihelion. Evidently, it was just barely beyond my reach. The following years were on higher ecliptic latitudes. I have very few reprints left of this report. Feeling that you deserved a copy, one is enclosed for your retention. My report describes the method and technique in conducting a systematic search of this kind. I hope that I can entice you to make a similar systematic search to a limit, two magnitudes fainter than I could. The 122-cm Palomar Schmidt is the best instrument in the world for this purpose. Another advantage is your experience with photographic plates. It is important, of course, to photograph the regions of the Zodiac Belt close to their 'opposition point' to avoid uncertainties of the intra-Jupiter asteroids near their apparent stationary points. At opposition, one has the full tangential vector of the Earth's orbital motion; thereby permitting an immediate indication of distance. Also, one should always have a third plate taken within the same week for confirmation. |
