The Rincon 20-inch telescope is shown on its Paramount ME
German equatorial mount located at the Winer Observatory with
Robert Crawford, Manager of Data Reduction for Project ASTEROID.
The Newtonian telescope can be configured either as an f/4.5
or f/9 instrument, and contains a Finger Lakes Instruments
CCD camera with a thinned, backside illuminated 1024 x 1024
detector.
Minor planet (asteroid) research has been at the heart of Winer Observatory staff research since the founding of the observatory in 1983. Since the mid-1970's, Winer staff have observed minor planet occultations, in which an asteroid moves between a distant star and an observer properly positioned on the Earth. When timed to high accuracy, such events can yield accurate estimates of a minor planet's shape and size, as well as help refine the orbit.
Since then, Winer staff became involved in minor planet astrometry - observing NEOs soon after discovery to assist in determining their orbits. Winer is using a 0.5-m (20-inch) telescope for its NEO astrometry project. Winer chooses the targets from the Minor Planet Center's NEO Confirmation Page (NEOCP) and the NEODys Web page. The images are fed over Winer's Internet link to our data reduction center in Tucson, where our Data Reduction Manager uses a combination of custom and commercial software designed specifically for reducing asteroid image data and reporting the results to the Minor Planet Center (MPC), the official clearinghouse and repository for minor planet orbit data.
The telescope we are using now is having difficulty detecting the objects on the NEOCP, most of which are beyond its reach. We need a larger telescope now, and it takes several years to build what we need.
We will use the new telescope for both scientific observations of NEOs to determine their characteristics and astrometry of NEOs detected by the established and new surveys (such as PanSTARRS). An example of a science program is to obtain photometry of minor planets to determine their rotation periods. These data help set limits on the size of the body, and they yield knowledge on the strength of the materials from which the body is made. Assuming the telescope will be equipped with a filter wheel with filters transformable to a standard system, we will also do color filter photometry of minor planets to assist with determining their composition. This information will help those planning missions to disrupt or displace potential impactors.
Sharing this telescope and imaging capability with a partner with EPO skills will provide their community with an exciting science research and education opportunity. The combination of the light-gathering power of a 2-m class telescope and the wide-field imaging capability of a good CCD imager is truly exciting. In addition, we are willing to explore the idea of archiving our images and making them available to the general astronomical community through participation in the National Virtual Observatory (a national astronomy data repository now under development) or similar projects that will give access to our images to those in a position to use them for other research programs.
Last modified: January 3, 2008.