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An High Resolution Near-Earth Objects Population Enabling Next-Generation Search StrategiesOver the past decade, the dedicated search for kilometer-size near-Earth objects (NEOs), potentially hazardous objects (PHOs), and potential Earth impactors has led to a boost in the rate of discoveries of these objects. The catalog of known NEOs is the fundamental ingredient used to develop a model for the NEOs population, either by assessing and correcting for the observational bias (Jedicke et al., 2002), or by evaluating the migration rates from the NEOs source regions (Bottke et al., 2002). The modeled NEOs population is a necessary tool used to track the progress in the search of large NEOs (Jedicke et al., 2003) and to try to predict the distribution of the ones still undiscovered, as well as to study the sky distribution of potential Earth impactors (Chesley & Spahr, 2004). We present a method to model the NEOs population in all six orbital elements, on a finely grained grid, allowing us the design and test of targeted and optimized search strategies. This method relies on the observational data routinely reported to the Minor Planet Center (MPC) by the Catalina Sky Survey (CSS) and by other active NEO surveys over the past decade, to determine on a nightly basis the efficiency in detecting moving objects as a function of observable quantities including apparent magnitude, rate of motion, airmass, and galactic latitude. The cumulative detection probability is then be computed for objects within a small range in orbital elements and absolute magnitude, and the comparison with the number of know NEOs within the same range allows us to model the population. When propagated to the present epoch and projected on the sky plane, this provides the distribution of the missing large NEOs, PHOs, and potential impactors.
Document ID
20110007366
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Tricaico, Pasquale
(Planetary Science Inst. Tucson, AZ, United States)
Beshore, E. C.
(Arizona Univ. Tucson, AZ, United States)
Larson, S. M.
(Arizona Univ. Tucson, AZ, United States)
Boattini, A.
(Arizona Univ. Tucson, AZ, United States)
Williams, G. V.
(Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Cambridge, MA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 25, 2013
Publication Date
October 1, 2010
Publication Information
Publication: Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society
Volume: 42
Subject Category
Astronomy
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNX08AD18G
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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