Goals and objectives: the astronomical research institute s southern hemisphere NEA follow-up program, southern sky near earth observations (ssneo), will partner with skynet, operated by the…

This contract award to the Astronomical Research Institute (ARI), a non-profit organization, provides funding for the Southern Hemisphere NEA Follow-Up Program, Southern Sky Near Earth Observations (SSNEO). The program will partner with the University of North Carolina's SKYNET to automate the 1-meter telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) to perform faint near-Earth asteroid (NEA) observations. The $495,792 grant will enable the telescope to produce approximately 2,000 measurements per year of NEAs as faint as magnitude 24, significantly increasing the availability of follow-up observations for newly discovered and hard-to-track asteroids in the southern sky. This effort supports the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) mission to detect and characterize near-Earth objects. The contract does not have a set-aside designation and is scheduled for completion on February 28, 2021.

Goals and objectives: the astronomical research institute s southern hemisphere NEA follow-up program, southern sky near earth observations (ssneo), will partner with skynet, operated by the university of north carolina, to automate cerro tololo inter-american observatory s one meter telescope. This one meter telescope will create a monumental change in faint NEA observations, becoming the largest full time neoo telescope in the southern hemisphere dedicated to the recovery of V23.0-24.0 magnitude neos. Utilizing this one meter telescope for V23RD NEA recovery will provide longer orbital arcs on newly discovered asteroids as well as the ability to recover V23RD magnitude single opposition neas. The proposed work will: 1) produce 2,000, V23RD magnitude measures per year during dark time and, 2) provide a large aperture telescope to recover faint neocp objects and newly discovered neas during full moon. NEA follow-up is critical to the reduction of orbital uncertainty because follow-up telescopes utilizing both non-sidereal tracking and vector CO-adding techniques can observe asteroids much fainter than the discovery telescopes in drift scan. The astronomical research institute has perfected this technique allowing 0.61-m telescopes at ctio to observe asteroids as faint as V23.0 with a 30 minute vector CO-added image. This same technique will allow ctio s 1.0-m to observe asteroids as faint as V24.0. Approach and methodology: ctio s one meter cassegrain reflector built by boller and chivens in 1965 has been operational at ctio since 1974. The telescope will be automated using DAN gray s sidereal technologies hardware and will be incorporated into the skynet remotely operated telescope network. Ctio s one meter telescope will be controlled alongside the existing NASA funded prompt telescopes allowing a single operator to manage all operations. This observing method is the most cost efficient because the existing infrastructure for asteroid targeting, data reduction, and data transfer are already fully automated. Utilizing a single telescope operator to handle all of ssneo s operations maximizes these assets preventing duplication of observations as well as better control of the telescope system relative to weather patterns. Ctio s 1.0-m telescope will concentrate all dark observing time to recovery of V23.0-24.0 magnitude neos and near full moon will assist in faint neocp and newly discovered objects to prevent those neas from becoming lost. Significance of proposed work: at the first and second iawn committee meeting, t. Spahr reported that dedicated ground based telescope follow-up to ~V24 was needed, especially in the southern hemisphere. The ctio 1.0-m telescope will be the first telescope to provide that capability on a fulltime basis. Currently the university of hawaii 2.24-m telescope operated by d. Tholen has provided the majority of follow-up and recovery observations fainter than V23.0. However, only a limited amount of time each year is dedicated to those observations. From 2015 october 1ST through 2016 march 1ST there were 4,540 measures fainter than 22ND magnitude reported to the minor planet center and only 476 fainter than V23.0. Ctio s 1.0-m telescope will produce ~2,000, V23.0-V24.0 measures per year resulting in a 300% increase in these faint NEO observations.