The minor planet program at the Goethe Link Observatory.
1949; Institute of Physics; Volume: 54; Linguagem: Inglês
10.1086/106281
ISSN1538-3881
Autores Tópico(s)Scientific Research and Discoveries
ResumoThe minor planet program at the Goethe Link Observatory was started on January 6, 1949. Up to the present time (June 15) 169 plates have been taken. The object of the program is to recover objects on the critical list that are specifically assigned to us by Dr. Herget. Probably our most significant re-discovery so far is (I 192) Prisma, which had not been observed since 1931. The residual from the ephemeris was Y I3'~7 and -44' on February 18th. We have also picked up (1362) Griqua, in excellent agreement with a special ephemeris computed by Dr. Brouwer. (1452) 1938 DZ1, which had not been observed since its discovery in 1938, was recently picked up with a residual of - 10m.8 and Y1053'. A new object, 1949 DA, was found on plates taken on February 18th in an attempt to find (1273) Helma. Seventeen asteroids were found on a single plate, taken on April ~rd for the purpose of getting an accurate position of (459) Signe for Dr. Herget. Probably 15 of these objects are new. The instrument used on this program is a 10- inch Cooke triplet loaned to us by the University of Cincinnati. The mounting was made by Fecker, and the guide telescope is provided with a micrometer which we use to guide on the expected motion of the asteroid. A 30-minute exposure on a ~o~a-O plate shows star Xo. 33 of the polar sequence as easily visible (m~0 = 17.1) and star Xo. 36 as barely visible (mpg = 17.8). Hence, i8th magnitude asteroids should be detectable on hour exposures made with this instrument. The main financial support for this program comes from a contract with the Office of Naval Research. Coethe Link Observatory, Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind.
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