Mount Lemmon Survey facts for kids
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| see List of minor planets § Main index |
The Mount Lemmon Survey (MLS) is a special project that helps find objects in space. It's part of the Catalina Sky Survey. MLS uses a powerful telescope at the Mount Lemmon Observatory in Arizona, USA. This observatory is high up in the Santa Catalina Mountains.
The survey uses a large telescope that is about 1.52 meters (60 inches) wide. It has a very strong camera that can take huge pictures of the sky. This camera helps scientists see a wide area of space at once.
The Mount Lemmon Survey is one of the best in the world at finding new space objects. It is especially good at discovering near-Earth objects. These are asteroids or comets that come close to Earth. MLS has found over 50,000 minor planets, which are small objects orbiting the Sun.
Amazing Discoveries
The Mount Lemmon Survey has made some exciting discoveries over the years. Scientists working on the survey have found new comets and asteroids.
Rediscovering a Lost Comet
On October 7, 2008, the survey accidentally found a comet that had been lost! This comet, called 206P/Barnard-Boattini, was first seen way back in 1892 by an American astronomer named Edward Emerson Barnard. He was the first to discover a comet using photography.
The comet had traveled around the Sun 20 times since 1892. It had also passed very close to Jupiter several times, which can change a comet's path. Finding it again was a big deal for astronomers.
Finding New Asteroids
The Mount Lemmon Survey also discovers many asteroids. On January 12, 2008, they found an asteroid called 2008 AO112. They used their 1.5-meter telescope to spot it.
Another interesting discovery was 2011 UN63. This asteroid was found on September 27, 2009. It's a special type of asteroid called a Mars trojan asteroid. This means it shares an orbit with Mars, staying in a stable spot.
On March 31, 2012, the survey found an unusual asteroid named 2012 FC71. It's an Aten asteroid, which means its orbit is mostly inside Earth's orbit. This asteroid also has a special kind of movement called a Kozai resonance.
See also
In Spanish: Mount Lemmon Survey para niños
