Patrick Seitzer, University of Michigan, Ed Barker, LZ Technology Inc, Brent Buckalew, Jacobs JETS, Andrew Burkhardt, University of Virginia, Heather Cowardin, University of Texas El Paso – Jacobs JETS, James Frith, University of Texas El Paso – Jacobs JETS, Catherine Kaleida, Space Telescope Science Institute, Susan M. Lederer, NASA Orbital Debris Program Office (JSC), Chris H. Lee, University of Michigan
Keywords: geosynchronous, orbital debris, space debris
Abstract:
The 6.5-m Magellan telescope, ‘Walter Baade’, at the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile has been used for spot surveys of the geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO) regime to study the population of optically faint GEO debris. The goal is to estimate the population of GEO debris at sizes much smaller than can be studied with 1-meter class telescopes. Despite the small field of view of the Magellan instrument (diameter 0.5-degree), a significant population of objects fainter than R = 19th magnitude has been found with angular rates consistent with circular orbits at GEO. We compare the size of this population with the numbers of GEO objects found at brighter magnitudes by smaller telescopes. The detections have a wide range of characteristics starting with those appearing as short uniform streaks. But there are a substantial number of detections that vary in brightness (“flashersâ€) during the 5-second exposure. The duration of each of these flashes can be extremely brief: sometimes less than half a second. This is characteristic of a rapidly tumbling object with a quite variable projected product of size * albedo. If the albedo is of the order of 0.2, then the largest projected size of these objects is around 10-cm.
Date of Conference: September 20-23, 2016
Track: Orbital Debris