Radar observability of near-Earth objects using EISCAT 3D
Radar observations can be used to obtain accurate orbital elements for near-Earth objects (NEOs) as a result of the very accurate range and range rate measureables. These observations allow the prediction of NEO orbits further into the future and also provide more information about the properties of...
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Copernicus Publications, European Geosciences Union
2020
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10037/18941 https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-38-861-2020 |
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ftunivtroemsoe:oai:munin.uit.no:10037/18941 2023-05-15T16:04:22+02:00 Radar observability of near-Earth objects using EISCAT 3D Kastinen, Daniel Tveito, Torbjørn Vierinen, Juha Granvik, Mikael 2020-07-15 https://hdl.handle.net/10037/18941 https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-38-861-2020 eng eng Copernicus Publications, European Geosciences Union Annales Geophysicae Kastinen, Tveito, Vierinen, Granvik. Radar observability of near-Earth objects using EISCAT 3D. Annales Geophysicae. 2020;38(4):861-879 FRIDAID 1821446 doi:10.5194/angeo-38-861-2020 0992-7689 1432-0576 https://hdl.handle.net/10037/18941 openAccess Copyright 2020 The Author(s) VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Physics: 430 VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Fysikk: 430 Journal article Tidsskriftartikkel Peer reviewed publishedVersion 2020 ftunivtroemsoe https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-38-861-2020 2021-06-25T17:57:36Z Radar observations can be used to obtain accurate orbital elements for near-Earth objects (NEOs) as a result of the very accurate range and range rate measureables. These observations allow the prediction of NEO orbits further into the future and also provide more information about the properties of the NEO population. This study evaluates the observability of NEOs with the EISCAT 3D 233 MHz 5 MW high-power, large-aperture radar, which is currently under construction. Three different populations are considered, namely NEOs passing by the Earth with a size distribution extrapolated from fireball statistics, catalogued NEOs detected with ground-based optical telescopes and temporarily captured NEOs, i.e. mini-moons. Two types of observation schemes are evaluated, namely the serendipitous discovery of unknown NEOs passing the radar beam and the post-discovery tracking of NEOs using a priori orbital elements. The results indicate that 60–1200 objects per year, with diameters D>0.01 m, can be discovered. Assuming the current NEO discovery rate, approximately 20 objects per year can be tracked post-discovery near the closest approach to Earth. Only a marginally smaller number of tracking opportunities are also possible for the existing EISCAT ultra-high frequency (UHF) system. The mini-moon study, which used a theoretical population model, orbital propagation, and a model for radar scanning, indicates that approximately seven objects per year can be discovered using 8 %–16 % of the total radar time. If all mini-moons had known orbits, approximately 80–160 objects per year could be tracked using a priori orbital elements. The results of this study indicate that it is feasible to perform routine NEO post-discovery tracking observations using both the existing EISCAT UHF radar and the upcoming EISCAT 3D radar. Most detectable objects are within 1 lunar distance (LD) of the radar. Such observations would complement the capabilities of the more powerful planetary radars that typically observe objects further away from Earth. It is also plausible that EISCAT 3D could be used as a novel type of an instrument for NEO discovery, assuming that a sufficiently large amount of radar time can be used. This could be achieved, for example by time-sharing with ionospheric and space-debris-observing modes. Article in Journal/Newspaper EISCAT University of Tromsø: Munin Open Research Archive Annales Geophysicae 38 4 861 879 |
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Open Polar |
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University of Tromsø: Munin Open Research Archive |
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ftunivtroemsoe |
language |
English |
topic |
VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Physics: 430 VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Fysikk: 430 |
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VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Physics: 430 VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Fysikk: 430 Kastinen, Daniel Tveito, Torbjørn Vierinen, Juha Granvik, Mikael Radar observability of near-Earth objects using EISCAT 3D |
topic_facet |
VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Physics: 430 VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Fysikk: 430 |
description |
Radar observations can be used to obtain accurate orbital elements for near-Earth objects (NEOs) as a result of the very accurate range and range rate measureables. These observations allow the prediction of NEO orbits further into the future and also provide more information about the properties of the NEO population. This study evaluates the observability of NEOs with the EISCAT 3D 233 MHz 5 MW high-power, large-aperture radar, which is currently under construction. Three different populations are considered, namely NEOs passing by the Earth with a size distribution extrapolated from fireball statistics, catalogued NEOs detected with ground-based optical telescopes and temporarily captured NEOs, i.e. mini-moons. Two types of observation schemes are evaluated, namely the serendipitous discovery of unknown NEOs passing the radar beam and the post-discovery tracking of NEOs using a priori orbital elements. The results indicate that 60–1200 objects per year, with diameters D>0.01 m, can be discovered. Assuming the current NEO discovery rate, approximately 20 objects per year can be tracked post-discovery near the closest approach to Earth. Only a marginally smaller number of tracking opportunities are also possible for the existing EISCAT ultra-high frequency (UHF) system. The mini-moon study, which used a theoretical population model, orbital propagation, and a model for radar scanning, indicates that approximately seven objects per year can be discovered using 8 %–16 % of the total radar time. If all mini-moons had known orbits, approximately 80–160 objects per year could be tracked using a priori orbital elements. The results of this study indicate that it is feasible to perform routine NEO post-discovery tracking observations using both the existing EISCAT UHF radar and the upcoming EISCAT 3D radar. Most detectable objects are within 1 lunar distance (LD) of the radar. Such observations would complement the capabilities of the more powerful planetary radars that typically observe objects further away from Earth. It is also plausible that EISCAT 3D could be used as a novel type of an instrument for NEO discovery, assuming that a sufficiently large amount of radar time can be used. This could be achieved, for example by time-sharing with ionospheric and space-debris-observing modes. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kastinen, Daniel Tveito, Torbjørn Vierinen, Juha Granvik, Mikael |
author_facet |
Kastinen, Daniel Tveito, Torbjørn Vierinen, Juha Granvik, Mikael |
author_sort |
Kastinen, Daniel |
title |
Radar observability of near-Earth objects using EISCAT 3D |
title_short |
Radar observability of near-Earth objects using EISCAT 3D |
title_full |
Radar observability of near-Earth objects using EISCAT 3D |
title_fullStr |
Radar observability of near-Earth objects using EISCAT 3D |
title_full_unstemmed |
Radar observability of near-Earth objects using EISCAT 3D |
title_sort |
radar observability of near-earth objects using eiscat 3d |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications, European Geosciences Union |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/10037/18941 https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-38-861-2020 |
genre |
EISCAT |
genre_facet |
EISCAT |
op_relation |
Annales Geophysicae Kastinen, Tveito, Vierinen, Granvik. Radar observability of near-Earth objects using EISCAT 3D. Annales Geophysicae. 2020;38(4):861-879 FRIDAID 1821446 doi:10.5194/angeo-38-861-2020 0992-7689 1432-0576 https://hdl.handle.net/10037/18941 |
op_rights |
openAccess Copyright 2020 The Author(s) |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-38-861-2020 |
container_title |
Annales Geophysicae |
container_volume |
38 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
861 |
op_container_end_page |
879 |
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1766400008201961472 |