研究期間：10101~10112;The CSIC-NSC Formosa Program provides an excellent opportunity to promote close cooperation between the planetary scientists in Spain and in Taiwan. After a series of meetings and discussions, the research topic of the trans-neptunian objects (TNOs) – or Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) – has been identified as the best possibility. This is because it merges the scientific interests and strengths of both parties in a very complementary manner. The proposed activity will add both breath and depth to the joint Taiwanese-Spanish team and hence will significantly quicken the pace and promote scientific productivity. For example, the coordinated follow-on observations at Lulin, Calar Alto and other locations will make important contributions to the PanSTARRS project of which Taiwan is an active science partner. There is also a high chance that this joint research team will be able to spearhead the development of stellar occultation measurements to a high level by joining forces. Joint proposals to large telescopes like CFHT, WHT, Subaru and VLT are to be pursued. The study of TNOs by ALMA will also be a key element taking advantage of the UCAT opportunity in Taiwan. Collaboration in the new field of laboratory astrophysics and astrobiology will add substances and momentum to the on-going efforts in Taiwan and Spain thus placing this CSIC-NSC team at the center stage of the international community working in this area. With a view of establishing long-term cooperation by exploiting new types of telescopes and instruments, a few near-term to long-range technical R/D items have been identified. These include the productions of special filter sets for photometric observations of asteroids and TNOs, the conceptual developments of CMOS-based backend devices for OIR imaging and spectroscopic measurements, and of MEMS-based DM adaptive optics, respectively, which will be applied to next-generation large telescopes and space-born observatories.
