Palomar Planet-Crossing Asteroid Survey
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| see § List of discovered minor planets |
The Palomar Planet-Crossing Asteroid Survey (PCAS) was an astronomical survey, initiated by American astronomers Eleanor Helin and Eugene Shoemaker at the U.S Palomar Observatory, California, in 1973.[2][3][4][5] The program is responsible for the discovery of 95 near-Earth Objects including 17 comets,[6] while the Minor Planet Center directly credits PCAS with the discovery of 20 numbered minor planets during 1993–1994.[1] PCAS ran for nearly 25 years until June 1995. It had an international extension, INAS, and was the immediate predecessor of the outstandingly successful NEAT program.[6]
Notable discoveries
[edit]The first NEO discovered by PACS was (5496) 1973 NA, an Apollo asteroid with an exceptional orbital inclination of 68°, the most highly inclined minor planet known until 1999. In 1976, Eleanor Helin discovered 2062 Aten,[7] the first of a new class of asteroids called the Aten asteroids with small orbits that are never far from Earth's orbit. As a result, these objects have a particularly high probability of colliding with the Earth. In 1979, Helin discovered an Apollo-type asteroid, that they later identified with the comet 4015 Wilson–Harrington.[8] It was the first confirmation that a comet can evolve into an asteroid after it has degassed.[6]
List of discovered minor planets
[edit]| (7029) 1993 XT2 | 14 December 1993 | list |
| (9072) 1993 RX3 | 12 September 1993 | list |
| (9078) 1994 PB2 | 9 August 1994 | list |
| (10363) 1994 UP11 | 31 October 1994 | list |
| (10564) 1993 XQ2 | 14 December 1993 | list |
| (13594) 1994 PC2 | 9 August 1994 | list |
| (14476) 1993 XW2 | 14 December 1993 | list |
| (14912) 1993 RP3 | 12 September 1993 | list |
| (15344) 1994 PA2 | 9 August 1994 | list |
| (18435) 1994 GW10 | 14 April 1994 | list |
| (18436) 1994 GY10 | 14 April 1994 | list |
| (24781) 1993 RU3 | 12 September 1993 | list |
| (24797) 1994 PD2 | 9 August 1994 | list |
| (24798) 1994 PF2 | 9 August 1994 | list |
| (26868) 1993 RS3 | 12 September 1993 | list |
| (37671) 1994 UY11 | 31 October 1994 | list |
| (39620) 1994 PE2 | 9 August 1994 | list |
| (46623) 1994 GV10 | 14 April 1994 | list |
| (52418) 1994 GX10 | 14 April 1994 | list |
| (120503) 1993 RW3 | 12 September 1993 | list |
See also
[edit]- Brian P. Roman
- List of minor planet discoverers § Discovering dedicated institutions
- Spacewatch
- List of near-Earth object observation projects
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Minor Planet Discoverers (by number)". Minor Planet Center. 16 November 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
- ^ Leverington, David (2003). Planetary vistas : a history of planetary astronomy up to the 21st century. New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. 339–340. ISBN 9780521808408.
- ^ Gehrels, Tom, ed. (1994). Hazards due to comets and asteroids. Tucson: Univ. of Arizona Press. pp. 129–131, 137. ISBN 9780816515059.
- ^ Barnes-Svarney, Patricia (2003). Asteroid : earth destroyer or new frontier? (Paperback ed.). Cambridge, Mass.: Basic Books, a member of the Perseus Books Group. p. 246. ISBN 9780738208855.
- ^ Levy, David H. (2002). Shoemaker by Levy: the man who made an impact. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. pp. 167–174. ISBN 9780691113258.
- ^ a b c Helin, Eleanor F.; Pravdo, Steven H.; Rabinowitz, David L.; Lawrence, Kenneth J. (May 1997). "Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) Program". Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences: 6. Bibcode:1997NYASA.822....6H. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1997.tb48329.x. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
- ^ "2062 Aten (1976 AA)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
- ^ "4015 Wilson-Harrington (1979 VA)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
Publications
[edit]- Helin, E.F.; Shoemaker, E.M. (December 1979). "The Palomar planet-crossing asteroid survey, 1973–1978". Icarus. 40 (3): 321–328. Bibcode:1979Icar...40..321H. doi:10.1016/0019-1035(79)90021-6.
- Helin, E. F. (1991). "Palomar Planet-Crossing Asteroid Survey (PCAS): Recent discovery rate". Asteroids, Comets, Meteors: 235–236. Bibcode:1992acm..proc..235H.
