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N. Kaiser (IfA, U. Hawaii), Pan-STARRS Project Team
The Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawaii is developing a large optical/near IR survey telescope system; the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System. The Pan-STARRS project is funded by the US Air Force and will consist of an array of four 1.8m telescopes with very large (7 square degree) field of view, giving it an etendue larger than all existing survey instruments combined. Each telescope will be equipped with a 1.4 billion pixel CCD camera with low noise and rapid read-out, and the data will be reduced in near real time to produce both cumulative static sky and difference images, from which transient, moving and variable objects can be detected. Pan-STARRS will be able to scan the entire visible sky to a detection limit of approximately 24th magnitude in less than a week. This unique combination of sensitivity and cadence will dramatically increase the discovery rate for moving objects and will thereby enable a wide range of solar system science goals. In particular, a major goal for the project is to survey potentially dangerous asteroids, where Pan-STARRS will be able to detect most objects down to 300m size, much smaller than the km size objects accessible to existing search programs. A single telescope system will be deployed on Haleakala, with first light early in 2006, and the full 4 telescope system will become operational towards the end of the decade.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 37 #3
© 2004. The American Astronomical Soceity.