A PHOTOGRAPHIC SEARCH FOR SATELLITES OF NEPTUNE

We have searched for satellites of Neptune to a limiting magnitude of B(J) almost-equal-to 20.5 in a 3-degrees x 3-degrees square region centered on the planet. This region is large enough to contain all potential satellites orbiting within the Jacobi limit r(J) = (M(p)/3M.)1/3a, where M(p) and M. are the planetary and solar masses and a is the planet's semimajor axis; for Neptune r(J)/a = 1.48-degrees. The search used sky-limited IIIaJ plates taken at the UK Schmidt Telescope, digitized using the APM facility in Cambridge and analyzed independently in Cambridge and Toronto. Nereid was recovered easily but no new satellites were found. (C) 1994 Academic Press, Inc.