Catalina Sky Survey
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Catalina Sky Survey is a project to discover comets and asteroids, and to search for near-earth objects. More specifically, to search for potentially hazardous asteroids (PHAs), that may pose a threat of impact.
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[edit] Assessment of the threat
Technology has now advanced to a level where humans are capable to inventory the NEO population. Given the catastrophic consequences of a collision with a large object, the NEO Observations Program (NEOO) is a result of a 1998 congressional directive to NASA to begin a program to identify 1 kilometer or larger objects to around 90 percent confidence level or better.
[edit] Other reasons
In addition to surveying how many NEOs there are, there are other benefits to this project. For example, humans can improve the known population distribution in the main belt, find the cometary distribution at larger perihelion distances, determining the distribution of NEOs as a product of collisional history and transport to the inner solar system, and identifying potential targets for flight projects.
[edit] Mission goal
The Catalina Sky Survey (CSS) and its affiliated Siding Spring Survey (SSS) are carrying out searches for NEOs, contributing to the Congressionally mandated goal.
[edit] Survey information
Every month, wide-angle surveys cover the observable sky to about R ~19.5. Larger apertures are needed to extend the search volume to larger distances, even if their smaller field limit coverage to the ecliptic region. In addition to other upgrades from past NEOO grants, they have completed a prime focus camera for the underutilized 1.5-m Mt. Lemmon telescope to help fill this need.
[edit] CSS/SSS team
The CSS team is headed by Steve Larson of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory of the University of Arizona.
The full team is:
- Steve Larson
- Ed Beshore
- Eric Christensen
- Richard Kowalski
- Rik Hill
- Al Grauer
- Alex Gibbs
In Australia:
- Rob McNaught
- Gordon Garradd
