New Research in Sky Surveillance: Interpretation of Low-Luminosity Objects

Abstract

The Spacewatch program discovers small bodies (asteroids and comets) in the solar system and analyzes their distributions with orbital parameters and absolute magnitude. Scanning of the night sky is conducted with a charged-coupled device (CCD) imaging detector. About 1200 to 2000 square degrees of sky are searched each year to a V magnitude limit of 21.5 Spacewatch discoveries support studies of the Centaur, Trojan, Main-Belt. and Earth-approaching asteroid populations. These studies provide information about the evolution of these objects and their orbits.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 07, 1997
Accession Number
ADA332955

Entities

People

  • Tom Gehrels

Organizations

  • University of Arizona

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Asteroids
  • Astronomical Observatories
  • Celestial Brightness
  • Charge Coupled Devices
  • Data Analysis
  • Detectors
  • Diameters
  • Digital Images
  • Images
  • Observatories
  • Observers
  • Personal Information Managers
  • Planetary Sciences
  • Scanning
  • Solar System
  • Telescopes

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Astronomy/Astrophysics
  • Image Processing and Computer Vision.
  • Space Exploration and Orbital Mechanics.

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Orbital Debris
  • Space - Space Objects