Surprise in the solar system
Abstract
Begun in 1976, the Solar System Survey was designed to search for very distant comets. The system employed a 48-inch Schmidt telescope and a fast wide-angle camera. During the first ten months of operation one comet and an unusual asteroid, called 1977 HB, were found. In October 1977 an object between the orbits of Uranus and Saturn was observed. Its orbit was computed, and it was named Chiron. Future work concerning its surface composition and origin is planned.
- Publication:
-
Sciences
- Pub Date:
- April 1978
- Bibcode:
- 1978Scis...18...12K
- Keywords:
-
- Asteroids;
- Solar System;
- Astronomical Photography;
- Astronomical Photometry;
- Orbit Calculation;
- Solar Orbits;
- Astronomy