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Astronomers searching for near-Earth asteroids have discovered a new 250 m body during testing of the Quasar Equatorial Survey, or 'Quest,' camera mounted on Palomar Mountain's 1.2-meter (48-inch) Oschin telescope.
"The Quest camera is still undergoing commissioning trials," said Dr. Steven Pravdo, project manager for the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking Project at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "But that doesn't mean we can't do some real science in the meantime. What we found was a near-Earth asteroid, estimated to be about 250 metres (820 feet) in size."
The detection of the near-Earth object, 2003 NL7, occurred on the evening of July 8. It has been confirmed by follow-up measurements from three other observatories and certified by the official clearinghouse of the solar system's smaller inhabitants, the Minor Planet Center. While 2003 NL7 has been labeled a near-Earth asteroid, it is, like most others, considered non-hazardous, with a 2.97-year orbit of the Sun in which its closest approach to Earth's orbit is about 25.1 million kilometres (15.6 million miles).
The Quest camera is designed for detecting quasars, near-Earth asteroids, trans-Neptunian objects, supernovas, and a large variety of other astrophysical phenomena, by scientists from Yale, JPL and the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. The camera consists of 112 charged coupled devices (CCDs).
"When Quest becomes operational, it will be a significant advancement for the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking team," said Dr. Raymond Bambery, the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking Project's principal investigator. "We expect the new camera to increase the efficiency of detection of near-Earth asteroids by some 3 to 4 times that of the camera it replaced. This will make a major contribution to NASA's goal of discovering more than 90 percent of near-Earth objects that are greater that 1 kilometre (.62 mile) in diameter by 2008."
More info: NASA Near Earth Asteroid Tracking
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