The Outer Solar System Origins Survey (I. . Design and First-Quarter Discoveries.)

Abstract: We report the discovery, tracking, and detection circumstances for 85 trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) from the first 42 square degrees of the Outer Solar System Origins Survey. This ongoing r-band solar system survey uses the 0.9 square degree field of view MegaPrime camera on the 3.6 meter Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. Our orbital elements for these TNOs are precise to a fractional semimajor axis uncertainty of less than 0.1 percent. We achieve this precision in just two oppositions, as com…