[Previous] | [Session 108] | [Next]
A.K.B. Monet, S.E. Levine, D.G. Monet (USNOFS), E.L.G. Bowell, B. Koehn (Lowell), B. Bryan (Whitman)
Two major astronomical surveys are presently underway, both covering the northern hemisphere and both collecting photometric data on large numbers of asteroids. The 2 Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) is systematically scanning the entire sky in three infrared bands: J (1.25 \mum), H (1.65 \mum), and Ks (2.17 \mum). Observations in the northern hemisphere are being made from Mt. Hopkins, in southern Arizona. The Lowell Observatory Near-Earth Object Search (LONEOS) is designed to find Earth-Crossing asteroids and comets. Using a telescope located near Flagstaff, Arizona, the LONEOS team scans the entire sky visible from this location three times per month. Visual magnitudes are estimated for all detected near-Earth objects. The relative proximity of the observing sites, and the all-sky coverage of both surveys, results in a large number of asteroids being observed in common. By combining the photometric data on all commonly-observered asteroids, we hope to obtain new information about the colors and surface compositions of large numbers of these objects, leading to an improved understanding of the origins and history of the asteroids - particularly those in Earth- crossing orbits.
If you would like more information about this abstract, please follow the link to http://www.nofs.navy.mil. This link was provided by the author. When you follow it, you will leave the Web site for this meeting; to return, you should use the Back comand on your browser.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: alice@nofs.navy.mil