Precise positions of Triton in 2010–2014 based on Gaia-DR2

Abstract

Abstract With unique orbital and physical characteristics, Triton is a very important target since it may contain information of the origin and evolution of the solar system. Besides space explorations, ground-based observations over long time also play key role on research of Triton. High-precision positions of Triton obtained from ground telescopes are of great significance for studying its orbital evolution and inverting the physical properties of Neptune. As a long-term observational target, Triton has been observed by the 1.56 m telescope of Shanghai Astronomical Observatory since 1996. In this paper, based on our AAPPDI software and with Gaia DR2 as the reference catalogue, 604 positions of Triton during 2010-2014 are calculated, with standard errors of $19mas-88mas$. A comparison between our results and the ephemeris (DE431+nep096) is also given.