NASA Orbital Debris Observatory (NODO) was an

astronomical Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galaxi ...

observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. ...

located in the

Lincoln National Forest Lincoln National Forest is a unit of the U.S. Forest Service located in southern New Mexico. Established by Presidential Proclamation in 1902 as the Lincoln Forest Reserve, the forest begins near the Texas border and contains lands in parts of ...

near Cloudcroft,

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

approximately northeast of

Alamogordo Alamogordo () is the seat of Otero County, New Mexico, United States. A city in the Tularosa Basin of the Chihuahuan Desert, it is bordered on the east by the Sacramento Mountains and to the west by Holloman Air Force Base. The population was ...

. From 1995 to 2002 it hosted two telescopes funded and operated by

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...

that were dedicated to detecting

orbital debris Space debris (also known as space junk, space pollution, space waste, space trash, or space garbage) are defunct human-made objects in space—principally in Earth orbit—which no longer serve a useful function. These include derelict space ...

. The facility was initially called the Cloudcroft Electro-Optical Research Facility when it was completed in 1962, and was also known as the

Cloudcroft Observatory Cloudcroft Observatory, ( obs. code: V29) is an astronomical observatory located in the Lincoln National Forest near Cloudcroft, New Mexico, approximately northeast of Alamogordo. It is owned by the Tzec Maun Foundation, a private astro ...

. It is now privately owned by Embry-Riddle University.

Telescopes

* The NASA-LMT was a

aperture In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. An ...

liquid-mirror telescope Liquid-mirror telescopes are telescopes with mirrors made with a reflective liquid. The most common liquid used is mercury, but other liquids will work as well (for example, low-melting alloys of gallium). The liquid and its container are rotate ...

located in NODO's main dome. It consisted of a 3 m diameter parabolic dish that held of a highly reflective

liquid metal A liquid metal is a metal or a metal alloy which is liquid at or near room temperature. The only stable liquid elemental metal at room temperature is mercury (Hg), which is molten above −38.8 °C (234.3 K, −37.9 °F). Three more ...

, mercury, spinning at a rate of 10 rpm, with sensors mounted above on a fixed structure. Due to the

primary mirror A primary mirror (or primary) is the principal light-gathering surface (the objective) of a reflecting telescope. Description The primary mirror of a reflecting telescope is a spherical or parabolic shaped disks of polished reflective meta ...

's material, the NASA-LMT was configured as a

zenith telescope A zenith telescope is a type of telescope that is designed to point straight up at or near the zenith. They are used for precision measurement of star positions, to simplify telescope construction, or both. A classic zenith telescope, also know ...

. Using 20 narrowband filters, it cataloged

space debris Space debris (also known as space junk, space pollution, space waste, space trash, or space garbage) are defunct human-made objects in space—principally in Earth orbit—which no longer serve a useful function. These include derelict spacec ...

in Earth's orbit. The telescope was initially completed in 1994 at NASA's

Johnson Space Center The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight control are conducted. It was renamed in honor of the late ...

, and moved to Cloudcroft the following year, where it operated routinely until June 2002. The LMT was also used for the UBC-NASA Multi-Narrowband survey, which examined galaxies at moderate

redshift In physics, a redshift is an increase in the wavelength, and corresponding decrease in the frequency and photon energy, of electromagnetic radiation (such as light). The opposite change, a decrease in wavelength and simultaneous increase in fr ...

s. When it was retired, some of the components were used in the

Large Zenith Telescope The Large Zenith Telescope (LZT) was a 6.0-meter diameter liquid-mirror telescope located in the University of British Columbia's Malcolm Knapp Research Forest, about east from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (north from Maple Ridge). It wa ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

. * The ''CCD Debris Telescope'' (CDT) was a portable

Schmidt camera A Schmidt camera, also referred to as the Schmidt telescope, is a catadioptric astrophotographic telescope designed to provide wide fields of view with limited aberrations. The design was invented by Bernhard Schmidt in 1930. Some notable e ...

equipped with a 512×512 pixel

charge-coupled device A charge-coupled device (CCD) is an integrated circuit containing an array of linked, or coupled, capacitors. Under the control of an external circuit, each capacitor can transfer its electric charge to a neighboring capacitor. CCD sensors are a ...

(CCD) sensor. It operated at NODO from October 1997 until December 2001, and was used to characterize debris at or near

geosynchronous orbit A geosynchronous orbit (sometimes abbreviated GSO) is an Earth-centered orbit with an orbital period that matches Earth's rotation on its axis, 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds (one sidereal day). The synchronization of rotation and orbita ...

. It had previously operated at Rattlesnake Mountain Observatory and the

Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing observatory The Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing observatory is an Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) operating location at Haleakala Observatory on Maui, Hawaii, with a twofold mission (). First, it conducts the research and development mission ...

. The CDT was donated to Embry–Riddle University after deactivation.

Gallery

File:Liquid Mirror Telescope.jpg, NASA Liquid Mirror Telescope File:CCD_Debris_Telescope.png, CCD Debris Telescope

References

External links

Orbital Debris Program Office
at NASA
Large Zenith Telescope homepage
{{Portal bar, Astronomy, Stars, Spaceflight, Outer space, Solar System, Education, Science Astronomical observatories in New Mexico Buildings and structures in Otero County, New Mexico Liquid mirror telescopes Defunct astronomical observatories Space debris 1995 establishments in New Mexico 2002 disestablishments in New Mexico

Telescopes

Gallery

See also

References

External links