 | |
| Alternative names | MLS |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 32°26′34″N110°47′19″W / 32.44283°N 110.78869°W /32.44283; -110.78869 |
| Observatory code | G96 |
| seeList of minor planets § Main index |
Mount Lemmon Survey (MLS) is a part of theCatalina Sky Survey withobservatory codeG96.[2] MLS uses a 1.52 m (60 in)cassegrain reflector telescope (with 10560x10560-pixel camera at the f/1.6 prime focus, for a fivesquare degree field of view)[3] operated by theSteward Observatory atMount Lemmon Observatory, which is located at 2,791 meters (9,157 ft) in theSanta Catalina Mountains northeast of Tucson, Arizona.
It is currently one of the most prolific surveys worldwide, especially for discoveringnear-Earth objects. MLS ranks among the top discoverers on theMinor Planet Center's discovery chart with a total of more than 160,000 numbered minor planets.[1][4]
Andrea Boattini and the survey accidentally rediscovered206P/Barnard-Boattini, alost comet, on 7 October 2008.[5] The comet has made 20 revolutions since 1892 and passed within 0.3–0.4 AU ofJupiter in 1922, 1934 and 2005.[6][7] This comet was also the first comet to be discovered byphotographic means, by theAmericanastronomerEdward Emerson Barnard, who did so on the night of 13 October 1892.[5]
On 12 January 2008, Mount Lemmon Survey discovered the near-Earth asteroid2008 AO112 at anapparent magnitude of 21 using a 1.5-meter (59 in)reflecting telescope.[8]
2011 UN63 was discovered by the Mount Lemmon Survey on 27 September 2009 and it is a stableL5Mars trojan asteroid.[9][10] The survey also discovered the unusualAtenasteroid2012 FC71, a dynamically coldKozai resonator, on 31 March 2012.[11]
