Palomar Observatory

Palomar Observatory is a private observatory located in San Diego County, California, and owned and operated by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The observatory currently consists of four main instruments, telescopes ranging in size from 18 to 200 inches.

Palomar Observatory Sky Survey

The Palomar Observatory Sky Survey (POSS), sponsored by the National Geographic institute, was completed in 1954 (actual date referenced varies, ranging from 1950 to 1957). This survey was performed using (14 inch)² or (6 degree)² photographic plates in both blue and red (separately) on the 48 inch Schmidt reflecting telescope. The survey covered the sky from a declination of +90 degrees (celestial north pole) to -24 degrees (plate centers) and all right ascensions and had a sensitivity to +22 magnitudes.

Until the completion of the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS), POSS was the most extensive all-sky survey ever. When completed, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey will surpass both. POSS also exists in digitized form (i.e., the photographic plates were scanned), as the Digital Sky Survey (DSS) [1].

Current research

One of the current ongoing research programs at Palomar is Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking.

External Links

• Caltech Astronomy
• The SBO Palomar Sky Survey Prints

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