Wide Field Imaging of Solar System Objects With an 8192x8192 CCD Mosaic

该提案寻求资金来开发一种独特的8192 x 8192 CCD马赛克相机，用于执行遥远彗星恢复计划。拟议中的相机将是目前最大的CCD拼接相机，首次允许在大范围内进行非常微弱的成像。彗星恢复计划的目标是在升华开始之前检测周期彗星，以便研究彗星核的物理和化学组成，包括裸核的特征和活动发展的建模。它将有可能恢复远至4-10天文单位的彗星，极限星等为24，视野约为0.9度。该计划将使用莫纳克亚山的拟议仪器（使用0.6米望远镜）和Cerro Tololo美洲天文台（CTIO）使用CTIO为其施密特望远镜建造的较小的CCD系统进行。此外，该相机将用于进行调查，以确定不明确的穿越地球的小行星数量，这些小行星可能是潜在的太空危害。拟议的CCD仪器也将用于UH 2.2米望远镜和加拿大-法国-夏威夷望远镜。其他休斯敦大学的行星教职员工和学生计划使用该仪器进行宽视场月球观测，彗星尘埃和等离子体尾的宽视场观测，寻找外太阳系天体的掩星候选者，以及为哈勃太空望远镜观测提供天体测量支持。并安排了与外部行星观测者的额外合作，以搜索柯伊伯彗星带。

This proposal seeks funding to develop a unique 8192 x 8192 CCD mosaic camera to be used to carry out a program of distant comet recovery. The proposed Camera will be the largest CCD mosaic in existence, allowing very faint imaging over large areas for the first time. The goal of the comet recovery program is to detect periodic comets prior to the onset of sublimation in order to study the physical and chemical composition of cometary nuclei which includes both the characterization of the bare nucleus and modelling of the development of activity. It will be possible to recover comets as far out as 4-10 AU, with a limiting magnitude of 24, and a field of view of approximately 0.9 degree. This program will be conducted with the proposed instrument from Mauna Kea (using the 0.6m telescope) and from the Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory (CTIO) using a smaller CCD system built at CTIO for their Schmidt telescope. Additionally, the camera will be used to conduct a survey in order to characterize the poorly defined population of Earth-crossing Aten asteroids which can be potential space hazards. The proposed CCD instrument will also be available for use on the UH 2.2m telescope and the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope. Other UH planetary staff and students plan to use the instrument for wide-field lunar observations, wide-field observations of comet dust and plasma tails, search for occulation candidates for outer Solar System bodies, and for astrometric support for Hubble Space Telescope Observations, and additional collaborations with outside planetary observers have been arranged for searches for the Kuiper cometary belt.