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R. J. Whiteley, D. J. Tholen (Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii)
Searches for asteroids at low solar elongations are rather difficult to undertake. However, the results from our survey of low elongation regions of the ecliptic have shown the viability of our techniques. We will present a detailed look at our current search strategies, with particular emphasis on how these strategies differ from those used for opposition searches. Although there are a few disadvantages to searching at low solar elongations, there are some surprising advantages as well. Using a detailed Monte Carlo simulation, we will examine the NEO spatial detection densities for various search techniques and sensitivity thresholds, and compare these with the observed densities. Our central conclusion is that not only can our search techniques yield NEOs with orbits interior to the Earth, but our techniques are also quite effective for discovering Atens and Apollos. Lastly, we will present physical observations for some of the NEOs we've discovered. This will include 8-color data for 1997 QK1 and 1998 DV9, as well as any color information we obtain on objects we may discover during our August observing run.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: robw@galileo.ifa.hawaii.edu