{| class="wikitable floatright" style="font-size: 0.9em; width: 270px;"
|+ Minor planets discovered: 25602 The 1-meter follow-up telescope uses a 2000×2000-pixel CCD detector which provides a field of view of 0.3 square degrees. Starting in 2019, CSS started using the Kuiper telescope situated on Mt. Bigelow for targeted follow-up for 7–12 nights per lunation.
CSS typically operates every clear night with the exception of a few nights centered on the full moon. The southern hemispheres' SSS in Australia ended in 2013 after funding was discontinued.
Discoveries
In 2005, CSS became the most prolific NEO survey, surpassing Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) in total number of NEOs and potentially hazardous asteroids discovered each year since. As of 2020, the Catalina Sky Survey is responsible for the discovery of 47% of the total known NEO population.
Notable discoveries
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Minor planet !! Discovery date !! Description
|-
|
| May 6, 2006
| Nearly missed the Moon and the Earth on May 9–10, 2006, and may impact the Earth on May 3, 2073.
|-
|
| November 20, 2007
| Nearly missed Mars on January 9, 2008
|-
|
| October 6, 2008
| Struck Earth on October 7, 2008
|-
|
| December 12, 2012
| Currently a temporary co-orbital of Venus.
|-
|
| January 1, 2014
| Struck Earth on January 2, 2014.
|-
|
| June 2, 2018
| Struck Earth on June 2, 2018.
|-
|
| September 4, 2024
| Struck Earth on September 4, 2024.
|}
List of comets discovered
List of discovered minor planets
For a complete listing of all minor planets discovered by the Catalina Sky Survey, see the index section in list of minor planets.
CSS/SSS team
The CSS team is headed by D. Carson Fuls of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory of the University of Arizona.
The full CSS team is:
- D. Carson Fuls (principal investigator)
- Stephen M. Larson
- Alex R. Gibbs
- Albert D. Grauer
- Richard E. Hill (Retired)
- Richard A. Kowalski
- Joshua Hogan
- Hannes Gröller
- Frank Shelly
- Cameron Loewen
- David Rankin
- Gregory J. Leonard
- Rob Seaman
- Vivian Carvajal
- Tracie Beuden
- Savannah Smith
- Alessandra Serrano
- Kacper Wierzchos
SSS
- Robert H. McNaught
- Gordon J. Garradd
Educational outreach
The CSS has helped with Astronomy Camp by showing campers how they detect NEOs. They even played a role in an astrophotography exercise with the 2006 Adult Astronomy Camp ending up with a picture that was featured on Astronomy Picture of the Day.
Catalina Outer Solar System Survey
The Zooniverse project Catalina Outer Solar System Survey is a citizen science project and is listed as a NASA citizen science project. In this project, the volunteers search for trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) in pre-processed images of the Catalina Sky Survey. Computers can detect the motion of TNOs, but humans must check whether this motion is real. Upon agreement with the volunteers, they will be cited as "measurers" in the submission of the astrometry to the Minor Planet Center. The project already found previously known TNOs, including 47171 Lempo, , and .
The Daily Minor Planet
The Zooniverse project The Daily Minor Planet is a citizen science project that is funded by a grant from NASA. In this project volunteers search for asteroids in images from the Catalina Sky Survey's 1.5-m survey telescope. Computer algorithms detect the motion of asteroids, but volunteers must check whether this motion is of a real object. Volunteers can be cited as "measurers" in the submission of the astrometry to the Minor Planet Center. The project has already found several new near earth objects, including 2023 VN3, 2023 TW, 2024 SN3, 2025 HD3, and 2025 KU1.
See also
- Asteroid Zoo
- Astronomical survey
- Large Synoptic Survey Telescope
- Minor Planet Center (MPC)
- Planetary Data System (PDS)
- Spaceguard
- Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System
- List of near-Earth object observation projects
References
</references> <!-- end of reflist -->
External links
- Catalina Sky Survey Website
- Overview and history