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Lectures at JPL on Near-Earth Asteroids

MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov 

Contact: Stephanie R. Zeluck

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                      February 9, 1998

JPL PRESENTS A SEARCH FOR NEAR-EARTH APPROACHING ASTEROIDS

     "Destination Earth: JPL's Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking 
Program" will be the theme for two free public lectures, one on 
Thursday, Feb. 19 at 7 p.m. in JPL's von Karman Auditorium, the 
other on Friday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. in The Forum at Pasadena City 
College.  Seating is limited and will be on a first-come, first-
served basis. 

     The lecture will be presented by  Eleanor Helin, principal 
investigator of the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) program. 
Helin has been active in planetary science and astronomy for 
nearly 35 years at JPL and Caltech. She initiated the Planet-
Crossing Asteroid Survey from Palomar Observatory in the 1970's, 
coordinated the International Near-Earth Asteroid Survey in the 
1980's, and now leads the NEAT program. 

     NEAT is an autonomous celestial observatory located at the 
U.S. Air Force's Ground-based Electro-Optical Deep Space 
Surveillance site on Mt. Haleakala, Maui, Hawaii.  It is designed 
to complete a comprehensive search of the sky for near-Earth 
asteroids and comets.

     Since beginning operation in December 1995, NEAT has 
discovered more than 15,000 objects, including 26 near-Earth 
asteroids, two long-period comets and the very unique object 
temporarily numbered 1996 PW, the most eccentric asteroid yet 
known. 

     NEAT is the first autonomous observing program of its type. 
No JPL personnel are required to operate the telescope on site in 
Hawaii. A Sun Sparc computer runs the observing system through 
the night and transmits the data back to JPL each morning.

     This lecture is part of the von Karman Lecture Series 
sponsored monthly by the JPL Media Relations Office. A web site 
on the lecture series is located at 
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/lecture. For information call the JPL 
Media Relations Office at (818) 354-5011. 

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