Continuous Simultaneous Monitoring of the Asteroid Hazard Throughout the Celestial Sphere and the Earth’s Climate by the Lunar Observatory
For the first time, a concept of an automatic system of two identical special optical robotic telescopes (SOTR-300VM), which will be installed along the lunar equator at longitudes of 81 has been developed.Their distance of 162 from each other along the equator of the Moon for the first time ensures round-the-clock continuous observations of all astronomical objects throughout the celestial sphere.Successively replacing each other depending on the change of day and night the robots will perform the function of a single telescope of the Lunar Observatory (LO).SOTR-300VM telescopes will installed in the central zone of a special dustproof bowl to protect the mirrors from charged particles of lunar dust falling onto their surface.Additional insurance against possible impact of charged particles of lunar dust is provided by a continuous inversion of the polarity of the charge of electrically insulated shells of the mirrors, entrance pupil and dust-protecting bowl with a given frequency, protected by three Russian patents.The twin-telescope system of the LO operating as one telescope for the first time will ensure continuous observations of all astronomical objects throughout the celestial sphere.This system will realize continuous monitoring of near-Earth asteroids and comets (more than 10 m in diameter), including those approaching the Earth from the side of the Sun, as well as the Earth's energy imbalance (EEI) and climate simultaneous by telescopes located on the day and night sides respectively.Full coordinate-photometric monitoring and study of potentially dangerous asteroids and comets by the LO telescope system with an exposure of 60 seconds or more will be carried out continuously across the entire celestial sphere in less than 360 hours.A separate survey of the starry sky region around the Sun (at a distance of 15 and more from the direction of the Sun) will be carried out every 48 hours.
Authors
- H. I. Abdussamatov (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1588-7217)
Institutions
- Pulkovo Observatory (RU)
Publication Details
- Journal
- International Journal of Environmental Sciences & Natural Resources
- Published
- 2025-05-05
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.19080/ijesnr.2025.35.556411
- Primary Topic
- Astro and Planetary Science
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00