Pan-STARRS PS1 Observatory
Cambridge, MA - Astronomers announced today that the first Pan-STARRS (Panoramic Survey Telescope & Rapid Response System) telescope, PS1, is fully operational. This innovative facility will be at the front line of Earth defense by searching for "killer" asteroids and comets. It will map large portions of the sky nightly, making it an efficient sleuth for not just asteroids but also supernovae and other variable objects. "Pan-STARRS is an all-purpose machine," said Harvard astronomer Edo Berger. "Having a dedicated telescope repeatedly surveying large areas opens up a lot of new opportunities." "PS1 has been taking science-quality data for six months, but now we are doing it dusk-to-dawn every night," says Dr. Nick Kaiser (University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy, or IfA), the principal investigator of the Pan-STARRS project. Pan-STARRS will map one-sixth of the sky every month. By casting a wide net, it is expected to catch many moving objects within our solar system.
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