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The Deep Ecliptic Survey (DES) is a project to find Kuiper belt objects (KBOs), using the facilities of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO).

The principal investigator is Bob Millis. Since 1998 through the end of 2003, the survey covered 550 square degrees with sensitivity of 22.5, i.e. estimated 50% of objects of this magnitude have been found.

The survey has also established the mean Kuiper Belt plane and introduced new formal definitions of the dynamical classes of Kuiper belt objects^[1]

The remarkable discoveries include^[2]

• 19521 Chaos, 28978 Ixion, large plutinos
• 1998 WW₃₁, the first binary TNO
• 2000 CR₁₀₅, the first object with perihelion to far to be affected (scattered) by Neptune and a large semi-major axis
• (87269) 2000 OO₆₇, remarkable for its semi-major axis of more than 500 AU and extreme eccentricity (0.96) taking the object from the inside of the Neptune's orbit to more than 1000 AU
• 2001 QR₃₂₂, the first Neptune's Trojan
• 2002 XU₉₃, on one of the most inclined orbit (>68°)

• http://www.lowell.edu/Research/DES/

1. ^ J. L. Elliot, S. D. Kern, K. B. Clancy, A. A. S. Gulbis, R. L. Millis, M. W. Buie, L. H. Wasserman, E. I. Chiang, A. B. Jordan, D. E. Trilling, and K. J. Meech The Deep Ecliptic Survey: A Search for Kuiper Belt Objects and Centaurs. II. Dynamical Classification, the Kuiper Belt Plane, and the Core Population. The Astronomical Journal, 129 (2006), pp. preprint
2. ^ Buie, M W; Millis, R L; Wasserman, L H; Elliot, J L; Kern, S D; Clancy, K B; Chiang, E I; Jordan, A B; Meech, K J; Wagner, R M; Trilling, D E Procedures, resources and selected results of the Deep Ecliptic Earth, Moon, and Planets, 92 (June 2003) Preprint on arXiv

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