The Indiana Asteroid Program was a photographic

astronomical survey An astronomical survey is a general map or 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 images, spectra, or other observations of ob ...

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet of the Solar System#Inner solar system, inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic o ...

s during 1949–1967, at the U.S.

Goethe Link Observatory The Goethe Link Observatory, observatory code 760, is an astronomical observatory near Brooklyn, Indiana, United States. It is owned by Indiana University and operated by the Indiana Astronomical Society https://iasindy.org/about.html, which effo ...

near

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

, Indiana. The program was initiated by

Frank K. Edmondson Frank Kelley Edmondson (August 1, 1912 – December 8, 2008) was an American astronomer. Life and career Edmondson was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and grew up in Seymour, Indiana. He graduated from Indiana University in 1933 and received a fel ...

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. * Indiana Univers ...

using a 10-inch ''f/''6.5

Cooke triplet The Cooke triplet is a photographic lens designed and patented (patent number GB 22,607) in 1893 by Dennis Taylor who was employed as chief engineer by T. Cooke & Sons of York. It was the first lens system that allowed elimination of most of t ...

astrographic camera. Its objectives included recovering asteroids that were far from their predicted positions, making new orbital calculations or revising old ones, deriving magnitudes accurate to about 0.1 mag, and training students. When the observatory's 36-inch (0.91-meter)

reflecting telescope A reflecting telescope (also called a reflector) is a telescope that uses a single or a combination of curved mirrors that reflect light and form an image. The reflecting telescope was invented in the 17th century by Isaac Newton as an alternati ...

proved unsuitable for searching for asteroids, postdoctoral fellow James Cuffey arranged the permanent loan of a 10-inch (25-centimeter) lens from the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

. Mounted in a shed near the main observatory, the instrument using the borrowed lens was responsible for all of the program's discoveries. By 1958, the program had produced 3,500

photographic plate Photographic plates preceded photographic film as a capture medium in photography, and were still used in some communities up until the late 20th century. The light-sensitive emulsion of silver salts was coated on a glass plate, typically thi ...

s showing 12,000 asteroid images and had published about 2,000 accurate positions in the ''

Minor Planet Circular 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. Function T ...

''. When the program ended in 1967, it had discovered a total of 119 asteroids. The program's highest numbered discovery, 30718 Records, made in 1955, was not named until November 2007 (). The program ended when the lights of the nearby city of Indianapolis became too bright to permit the long exposures required for the photographic plates. The program's nearly 7,000 photographic plates are now archived at

Lowell Observatory Lowell Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, United States. Lowell Observatory was established in 1894, placing it among the oldest observatories in the United States, and was designated a National Historic Landmark ...

.Kingery, p. 47, an
Indiana University Department of Astronomy: Frank Edmondson Home Page

List of discovered minor planets

The Indiana Asteroid Program has discovered 119 asteroids during 1949–1966. 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. Function ...

officially credits these discoveries to "Indiana University" rather than to the program itself.

References

{{reflist , refs= {{cite web , title = Minor Planet Discoverers (by number) , work = Minor Planet Center , url = http://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/lists/MPDiscsNum.html , date = 4 September 2016 , access-date = 15 September 2016 {{Cite journal , author = Gehrels, Thomas , date = February 1958 , title = The Indiana asteroid program. , journal = Astronomical Journal , volume = 63 , pages = 50 , bibcode = 1958AJ.....63...50G , doi = 10.1086/107684 , doi-access= free {{cite web , title = IU Asteroid Program "records" final chapter , publisher = Indiana University – News Room , date = 7 April 2008 , url = http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/7881.html , access-date = 15 September 2016 {{cite web , title = MPC/MPO/MPS Archive , work = Minor Planet Center , url = http://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/ECS/MPCArchive/MPCArchive_TBL.html , access-date = 15 September 2016 Astrometry Astronomical discoveries by institution * Indiana University