Abstract

A Near-Earth object (NEO) astrometric follow-up program was started at Barão Geraldo (Campinas, SP, Brazil) in 1996 and transferred to Observatório Abrahão de Moraes (Valinhos, SP) in early 1998. Since mid-1999, this program uses a 36-cm telescope on a robotic mount, which is remotely operated from Barão Geraldo through an internet connection. The planning of observation sessions is made with the help of especially developed software which automatically allocates telescope time to the targets which one wishes to observe on a given night, taking into account several observational constraints and the physical characteristics of the telescope and robotic mount. The output of the time allocation program is a set of scripts containing commands for the telescope and CCD camera, and topocentric ephemeris for the various solar-system targets (whose computation includes full planetary perturbations). These scripts are uploaded to the telescope control computer, and executed autonomously by the telescope. The resulting images are downloadedin near-real time and analyzed with the help of automated astrometry and asteroid detection programs. Since its beginning, this program has produced 1100 astrometric observations of NEOs, a few hundred observations of comets, and the discovery of 27 main belt minor planets, 19 of which now have permanent numbers. The same methodology of remote operation has been applied since mid-1999 to carry out NEO follow-up campaigns and asteroid searches with a 36-cm telescope at Tenagra I Observatory (near Cottage Grove, OR, USA), with 36-, 50-, and 81-cm telescopes at Tenagra II Observatory (near Patagonia, AZ, USA), and with 12-, 32-, 37-, and 50-cm telescope at Fountain Hills (AZ). These campaigns have produced more than 2000 observations of NEOs, a few hundred observations of comets, and the discovery of about 210 minor planets.