This paper discusses the use of Raven-class telescopes to support Space Situational Awareness (SSA) observations at remote locations. Topics include why such a deployment of telescopes might be necessary, the planning for the deployment, and a description of a recent deployment.
In August 2002, the near-Earth asteroid 2002 NY40, made its closest approach to the Earth. This provided an opportunity to study a near-Earth asteroid with a variety of instruments. Several of the telescopes at the Maui Space Surveillance System were trained at the asteroid and collected adaptive optics images, photometry and spectroscopy. Analysis of the imagery reveals the asteroid is triangular shaped with significant self-shadowing. The photometry reveals a 20-hour ...
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