Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Nov 2001
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001dps....33.1416m&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS Meeting #33, #14.16; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 33, p.1056
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
Exploring the extent, content, and dynamical make-up of the Kuiper Belt is arguably the most exciting opportunity confronting groundbased planetary astronomy in the coming decade. Similarly, we must meet the Congressional mandate to fill out the inventory of NEOs and we should extend the NEO survey to those objects whose impacts, while not globally catastrophic, would still cause regional devastation. We describe a planned telescope designed for efficient surveys of both the Kuiper Belt and the Near-Earth Object population. NGLT is a 4-meter telescope with a 2-degree-diameter field of view at prime focus for optical imaging. The telescope can be quickly reconfigured as an F/6 Ritchey-Chretien instrument for optical and near-IR spectroscopy or wide-field IR imaging. NGLT will permit imaging approximately 250 square degrees of sky to 25th mag in R within a single 10-hr dark night. Adopting the same observing protocol as the current Deep Ecliptic Survey, one could expect with NGLT to discover of order 200 KBOs per night. Similarly, this telescope would permit an increase in the NEO discovery rate by a factor of 25 over that of the most effective current surveys; NEOs could be detected at a rate of about 500 per night. Approximately half the cost of this \$30M project will be provided by Lowell Observatory; a governmental or private partner is being sought for the balance.
Blanco Daniel R.
Bowell Edward
Dunham Edward W.
Millis Robert L.
Smith Cotton H.
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