| Alternative names | LINEAR |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 33°49′05″N106°39′33″W / 33.8181°N 106.6592°W /33.8181; -106.6592 |
| Observatory code | 704 |
| Website | www |
| LINEAR NEAT Spacewatch LONEOS | CSS Pan-STARRS NEOWISE All others |
TheLincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) project is a collaboration of theUnited States Air Force,NASA, and theMassachusetts Institute of Technology'sLincoln Laboratory for the systematic detection and tracking ofnear-Earth objects. LINEAR was responsible for the majority ofasteroid discoveries from 1998 until it was overtaken by theCatalina Sky Survey in 2005.[1] As of 15 September 2011[ref], LINEAR had detected 231,082 newsmall Solar System bodies, of which at least 2,423 were near-Earth asteroids and 279 werecomets.[2] The instruments used by the LINEAR program are located atLincoln Laboratory's Experimental Test Site (ETS) on theWhite Sands Missile Range (WSMR) nearSocorro, New Mexico.
In the late 1970s, theLincoln Laboratory's Experimental Test Site facility (observatory code704) was built at White Sands Missile Range.[3][4] The project's prototype used low-light video cameras.[5] In 1994 a new proposal was made for automated detection of asteroids, this time using newer digital detector technology.[6] The LINEAR project began operating anear-Earth object discovery facility in 1996 using a 1.0 m (39 in)aperturetelescope designed for theAir Force Space Command'sGround-based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance (GEODSS). The wide-field Air Force telescopes were designed for optical observation of Earth-orbiting spacecraft. Initial field tests used a 1024 × 1024pixelcharge-coupled device (CCD) detector. While this CCD detector filled only about one fifth of the telescope'sfield of view, four near-earth objects were discovered. A 1960 × 2560 pixel CCD which covered the telescope's two-square degree field of view was then installed, and both detectors were used in later tests.[7]
The first LINEAR telescope became fully operational in March 1998.[8] Beginning in October 1999, a second 1.0 m telescope was added to the search effort.[9] In 2002, a 0.5 m (20 in) telescope equipped with the original CCD was brought on-line to provide follow-up observations for the discoveries made by the two search telescopes.[10] This allowed about 20% more of the sky to be searched each night. Data recorded by the telescopes is sent to a Lincoln Laboratory facility atHanscom Air Force Base inLexington, Massachusetts for processing. Detections are then forwarded to theMinor Planet Center.[2]
| seeList of minor planets § Main index |
In addition to discovering more than 140,000minor planets, LINEAR is also credited with the discovery, or co-discovery, or rediscovery of several periodic comets, including11P/Tempel–Swift–LINEAR,158P/Kowal-LINEAR,160P/LINEAR (LINEAR 43),165P/LINEAR (LINEAR 10), and176P/LINEAR (LINEAR 52, 118401 LINEAR: one of only five objects classified both as comets andasteroids). Other objects discovered include(137108) 1999 AN10,(179806) 2002 TD66, and2004 FH. One of LINEAR's discoveries(231937) 2001 FO32 passed near the Earth on 21 March, 2021[12]
{{cite book}}:|journal= ignored (help){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
.png)
