The Asiago-DLR Asteroid Survey (ADAS;
obs. code:
209) was an
astronomical survey
An astronomical survey is a general celestial cartography, map or astrophotography, image of a region of the sky (or of the whole sky) that lacks a specific observational target. Alternatively, an astronomical survey may comprise a set of image ...
conducted in the early 2000s to search for
comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that warms and begins to release gases when passing close to the Sun, a process called outgassing. This produces an extended, gravitationally unbound atmosphere or Coma (cometary), coma surrounding ...
s and
asteroid
An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...
s, with special emphasis on
near-Earth object
A near-Earth object (NEO) is any small Solar System body orbiting the Sun whose closest approach to the Sun ( perihelion) is less than 1.3 times the Earth–Sun distance (astronomical unit, AU). This definition applies to the object's orbit a ...
s. The
Minor Planet Center
The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.
Funct ...
directly credits ADAS with the discovery of more than 200
minor planets
According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''minor ...
after 2001.
Description
It was a joint venture between the Department of Astronomy of the
University of Padua
The University of Padua (, UNIPD) is an Italian public research university in Padua, Italy. It was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from the University of Bologna, who previously settled in Vicenza; thus, it is the second-oldest ...
(using the Schmidt telescope at the
Cima Ekar Observing Station) and the
German Aerospace Center
The German Aerospace Center (, abbreviated DLR, literally ''German Center for Air- and Space-flight'') is the national center for aerospace, energy and transportation research of Germany, founded in 1969. It is headquartered in Cologne with 3 ...
's ''Institute of Space Sensor Technology and Planetary Exploration'' at Berlin-Adlershof, Germany. ADAS has
IAU
The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...
observatory code
209. Co-located with the
Asiago Astrophysical Observatory, it conducted observations from 2001 to 2002. Principal investigators for the survey were Cesare Barbieri (at Padua/Asiago) and Gerhard Hahn (at DLR Berlin-Adlershof). The project worked in collaboration with the
Uppsala-DLR Asteroid Survey (UDAS).
List of discovered minor planets
See also
*
Cima Ekar Observing Station
*
List of asteroid-discovering observatories
*
*
*
List of near-Earth object observation projects
List of near-Earth object observation projects is a list of projects that observe Near-Earth objects. Most are astronomical surveys intended to find undiscovered asteroids, and they sometimes find comets.
NEA by survey.svg, Annual NEA discoveri ...
References
External links
* {{cite web , url = http://dipastro.pd.astro.it/planets/adas/ , title = Project home-page , access-date = 2004-04-24 , archive-date = 2012-01-06 , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120106195930/http://dipastro.pd.astro.it/planets/adas/ , url-status = dead
Asteroid surveys
*
Astronomical discoveries by institution
Minor-planet discovering observatories