The Pan-STARRS search for Near Earth Objects

The two Pan-STARRS telescopes (Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System), located on Haleakala, Maui, Hawaii, are 1.8-meter diameter telescopes equipped with 1.4 Gigapixel cameras that deliver 7 square degree fields of view. The first of these telescopes, Pan-STARRS1 (PS1), has established itself as the leading Near Earth Object (NEO) discovery telescope, having discovered more that 50 percent of the larger NEOs over the last several years. The second telescope, Pan-STARRS2 (PS2) is being commissioned, and its efficiency will grow as its camera is improved and as its optics and control system are tuned. The Pan-STARRS telescopes deliver excellent astrometry and photometry. PS1 continues to discover a significant number of large (> 1km) NEOs, which are the most dangerous due to their large size. Because of the excellent image quality at Haleakala, the Pan-STARRS telescopes are very efficient at detecting cometary activity. PS1 discovered over half of the new comets in both 2014 and 2015, and discovered 10 comets in 10 nights in November 2014. In good weather conditions, the discovery rate of NEO candidates by PS1 can overwhelm worldwide NEO follow-up resources, particularly for fainter NEOs. This has required PS1 to repeat fields to recover its NEO candidates to produce discoveries. As PS2 matures, and when the G96 telescope of the Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona is upgraded, the combination of these three telescopes will facilitate a higher NEO discovery rate, and a better census of the NEOs in the sky. This will in turn lead to a better understanding of the size and orbit distribution of NEOs, and the corresponding hazard to Earth.