Yen-Sang Hu

Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica

Papers

Total Citations

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About

Yen-Sang Hu is a leading figure in observational astronomy, specializing in the detection and characterization of Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs) through stellar occultation surveys. His primary research focuses on developing high-speed, wide-field camera systems and robotic telescope arrays to probe the outer solar system. Hu’s most significant contribution is his central role in the Transneptunian Automated Occultation Survey (TAOS II), a project deploying three robotic telescopes designed to monitor approximately 10,000 stars simultaneously at 20 Hz. This unprecedented cadence enables the statistically significant detection of brief occultation events caused by distant TNOs, offering a powerful method to map the population and size distribution of objects in the Kuiper Belt. His work on the prototype cameras for TAOS II (2016, 12 citations) and the high-speed CMOS cameras (2014, 7 citations) has been foundational, demonstrating the technical feasibility of large-scale, high-cadence occultation surveys. By pushing the limits of instrumentation and survey strategy, Yen-Sang Hu is helping to unlock the secrets of the solar system’s most remote frontier, providing critical data that informs models of planetary formation and evolution.