slovak astronomers built a first central pacific …pveres/files/amos_hi_press.pdfplaced amos at the...
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SlovakAstronomersbuiltafirstCentralPacificmeteorobservationsystem(AMOS).InBratislava,Slovakia.October15,2018.AstronomersfromComeniusUniversityinBratislava(CU)haveinstalledandcommissionedtheiroriginalastronomicalsystemAMOS(All-skyMeteorOrbitSystem)onthesummitsofdormantvolcanoes of Haleakala and Mauna Kea, right next to the world renowned astronomicaltelescopes.TheAMOSsystemwasdevelopedattheAstronomicalandGeophysicalObservatoryofComeniusUniversity inModraforasystematicmonitoringofthenightskiesandorbitdeterminationofmeteors.Since2007,whenthefirstprototypeofAMOShasstarteditsdailyoperationsandthreeotherAMOSstationsjoinedthenetworkinSlovakia,AMOSgrewintoaworld-widenetwork.In2015,twoAMOSstationswerecommissionedonCanaryIslandsandin2016,twostationswereaddedintheChileandesertofAtacama.AMOSispatented,wasawardedbyagoldenmedalatInvento2013exhibitofinventionsandinnovations.AMOSprovidesscientificdataonmeteoroids–smallpebblesthatentertheEarth’satmosphereseenasfallingstars(meteors)andindirectlyontheirparentbodies-asteroidsandcomets.“WeplacedAMOSattheastronomicalobservatoriesat3000and4200meterelevationsabovethesea level in Hawaii, because of excellent observing conditions that increase the detectionefficiencyofAMOSandthefact that theCentralPacifichasnotbeencoveredbyanymeteordetectionsystemso far.Wearebuildingaworld-widedetectionnetwork thatwouldprovidecomplexdataoninfluxofmeteoroidparticlesontoEarthandHawaiiwasthenextstep.Detailedtemporalfluxesofmeteoroidparticlesareimportantforresearchaswellasfortheprotectionofassets like satellites around the Earth”, said the Associate Professor Juraj Tóth, PhD, anastronomeratFacultyofMathematics,PhysicsandInformatics(FMPI)atCU,oneoftheinventorsofAMOSandtheprojectPrincipalInvestigator.InstallationofAMOSinHawaiiwasprecededbyajourneyofDr.TóthtoHawaiiinJanuary2018,whereheinitiatedacollaborationwiththeInstituteforAstronomy(IfA)ofUniversityofHawaiiatManoawherehepresentedtheAMOSprojectanditsresults.Withhisformerstudentandcolleague,Dr.PeterVerešofHarvard-SmithsonianCenter forAstrophysics (CfA)andwith thesupportofDr.RobertJedicke(IfAHawaii)theyvisitedobservatoriesonHaleakalaandMaunaKeaandinvestigatedideallocationforAMOSinstallation.Afterapplicationforpermits,thepermitswere granted in March 2018 and the cameras were subsequently shipped to Hawaii. Theinstallationwas performed in September 2018 by our colleaguesDr. Pavol Zigo and JaroslavŠimon,withtheassistanceofDr.PeterVerešandKláraBaloghová.NextgenerationofAMOSsystemwasinventedandconstructedwiththesupportofSlovakgrantagencyAPVV-0517-12andAPVV-16-0148projects.
Weacknowledgetheinstitutionalhelpandlocalsupportof:InstituteforAstronomy,UniversityofHawaiiatManoaTheSubmillimeterArrayHarvard-SmithsonianCenterforAstrophysicsMinorPlanetCenter
GlobalnetworkoftheAMOSsystem.Redcrossesdepictlocationsof10workingAMOSstations,bluecrossestheplannedlocations-
TheAMOSsystembeinginstalledatHaleakala,onMaui.TheinstallationcrewconsistsofDr.Zigo,Dr.Veres,BaloghováandŠimon(lefttoright).MaunaKeaisseenintherightbackground.TwodomesinthebackgroundbelongtoPan-STARRStelescopes.