View source for Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking

{{Short description|Program to discover near-Earth objects}}
{{Infobox organization
| name                = Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking
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| abbreviation        = NEAT
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| predecessor         = [[Palomar Planet-Crossing Asteroid Survey]]
| merged              = 
| successor           = [[Near Earth Object Program]]
| formation           = {{start date|1995|12}} <!-- use {{start date|YYYY|MM|DD|df=y}} -->
| founder             = 
| founding_location   = [[Haleakala Observatory|Haleakalā Observatory]], [[Maui, Hawaii]]
| dissolved           = {{end date|2007|4}} <!-- use {{end date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
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| type                = Space observation program
| status              = Disbanded
| purpose             = To search for and map out near-earth asteroids
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| leader_title        = Principal Investigator
| leader_name         = Raymond Bambery
| leader_title2       = Co-Investigator and Project Manager
| leader_name2        = Steven H. Pravdo
| leader_title3       = Co-Investigators
| leader_name3        = David L. Rabinowitz, Ken Lawrence and Michael Hicks
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| main_organ          = [[NASA|National Aeronautics and Space Administration]]
| parent_organization = [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]]
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| website             = {{URL|http://neat.jpl.nasa.gov/}}
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'''Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking''' ('''NEAT''') was a program run by [[NASA]] and the [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]], [[Astronomical survey|surveying the sky]] for [[near-Earth object]]s. NEAT was conducted from December 1995 until April 2007, at [[Ground-based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance|GEODSS]] on Hawaii (Haleakala-NEAT; [[IAU code#566|566]]), as well as at [[Palomar Observatory]] in California (Palomar-NEAT; [[IAU code#644|644]]). With the [[List of minor planet discoverers#Discovering dedicated institutions|discovery]] of more than 40 thousand [[minor planet]]s, NEAT has been one of the most successful programs in this field, comparable to the [[Catalina Sky Survey]], [[LONEOS]] and [[Mount Lemmon Survey]].<ref name="NEAT" /><ref name="Bauer-2007" /><ref name="MPC-Discoverers" />

NEAT was the successor to the [[Palomar Planet-Crossing Asteroid Survey]] (PCAS).

== History ==
[[File:NEA by survey.png|thumb|left|265px|Number of [[near-Earth object|NEO]]s detected by various projects:
{| style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 8px;"
|-
| valign=top width=45% |
{{legend2|#0000FF|border=1px solid #0000B3|[[LINEAR]]}}<br />
{{legend2|#FFA500|border=1px solid #B37400|'''NEAT'''}}<br />
{{legend2|#FF0000|border=1px solid #800000|[[Spacewatch]]}}<br />
{{legend2|#FFFF00|border=1px solid #B3B300|[[LONEOS]]}}
| valign=top |
{{legend2|#008B00|border=1px solid #003D00|[[Catalina Sky Survey|CSS]]}}<br />
{{legend2|#FF00FF|border=1px solid #390052|[[Pan-STARRS]]}}<br />
{{legend2|#00CCCC|border=1px solid #333|[[NEOWISE]]}}<br />
{{legend2|#993300|border=1px solid #333|[[List of near-Earth object observation projects|All others]]}}
|}
]]

The original principal investigator was [[Eleanor F. Helin]], with co-investigators Steven H. Pravdo and [[David L. Rabinowitz]].<ref name="NEAT" />

NEAT had a cooperative agreement with the [[U.S. Air Force]] to use a [[GEODSS]] telescope located on [[Haleakala]], [[Maui]], [[Hawaii]]. GEODSS stands for [[Ground-based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance]] and these wide field Air Force telescopes were designed to optically observe Earth orbital spacecraft. The NEAT team designed a [[Charge-coupled device|CCD]] camera and computer system for the GEODSS telescope. The CCD camera format was 4096&nbsp;×&nbsp;4096 [[pixel]]s and the field of view was 1.2°&nbsp;×&nbsp;1.6°.

Beginning in April 2001, the [[Samuel Oschin telescope]] ({{convert|1.2|m}} aperture Schmidt telescope at [[Palomar Observatory]]) was also put into service to discover and track near-Earth objects. This telescope was equipped with a camera containing 112 CCDs each 2400&nbsp;×&nbsp;600. This was the telescope that produced the images leading to the discovery of [[50000 Quaoar]] in 2002, and [[90377 Sedna]] in 2003 (published 2004) and the [[dwarf planet]] [[136199 Eris|Eris]].

In addition to discovering thousands of [[asteroid]]s, NEAT was also credited with the co-discovery (recovery) of periodic [[comet]] [[54P/de Vico-Swift-NEAT]] and of the high proper motion [[Teegarden's star]]. The [[C/2001 Q4 (NEAT)]] comet was discovered on August 24, 2001 by NEAT.<ref>{{cite web|title=C/2001 Q4 (NEAT)|url=http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=C/2001+Q4|website=JPL Small-Body Database Browser|publisher=[[NASA]]|access-date=10 May 2015}}</ref>

An asteroid was named in its honour, [[64070 NEAT]], in early 2005.<ref>{{cite web|title=64070 NEAT (2001 SS272)|url=http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=64070+NEAT|website=JPL Small-Body Database Browser|publisher=NASA|access-date=10 May 2015}}</ref>

== Discoveries ==
{| class="wikitable floatright" style="font-size: 0.9em; width: 270px;"
|+ [[Minor planet]]s discovered: 40,975&thinsp;<ref name="MPC-Discoverers" />
|-
| ''see {{section link|List of minor planets|Main index}}''
|}
{{See also|Category:Discoveries by NEAT}}

[[1996 PW]] was discovered on 1996 August 9 by a NEAT automated search camera on [[Haleakalā]], [[Hawaii]].<ref name=Oortcloudasteroid /> It was the first object that was not an active comet discovered on an orbit typical of a long-period comets.<ref name=Oortcloudasteroid>Weissman, P. R. & Levison, H. F. (1997). [http://iopscience.iop.org/1538-4357/488/2/L133/pdf/1538-4357_488_2_L133.pdf Origin and evolution of the unusual object 1996 PW: Asteroids from the Oort cloud?]. ''The Astrophysical Journal'', 488, L133–L136</ref> This raised the possibility it was an [[extinct comet]] or an unusual asteroid.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/releases/96/astcome.html|title=New Object Moves like a Comet but Looks like an Asteroid|date=22 August 1996|access-date=22 September 2017|publisher=[[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]]|place=Pasadena, California}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[List of Near-Earth asteroids by distance from Sun]]
* [[Minor Planet Center]] (MPC)
* [[Planetary Data System]] (PDS)
* [[Spaceguard]]
*[[List of near-Earth object observation projects]]

== References ==
{{reflist
|refs=

<ref name="NEAT">{{cite web
  |title      = Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT)
  |website    = Near Earth Object Program
  |publisher  = NASA/JPL
  |url        = http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/programs/neat.html
  |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040114170950/http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/programs/neat.html
  |url-status = dead
  |archive-date = 14 January 2004
  |access-date = 9 February 2017}}</ref>

<ref name="Bauer-2007">{{Cite journal
  |display-authors = 6
  |first1     = J. M. |last1 = Bauer
  |first2     = K. J. |last2 = Lawrence
  |first3     = B. J. |last3 = Buratti
  |first4     = R. J. |last4 = Bambery
  |first5     = S. C. |last5 = Lowry
  |first6     = K. J. |last6 = Meech
  |first7     = Y. R. |last7 = Fernandez
  |first8     = P. |last8 = Petersen
  |first9     = M. |last9 = McSavaney
  |first10    = J. |last10 = Eckel
  |date       = December 2007
  |title      = Photometry of Small Outer Solar System Bodies with the NEAT Database
  |url        = http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/acm2008/pdf/8086.pdf
  |journal    = Asteroids
  |volume = 1405 |pages = 8086 |bibcode    = 2008LPICo1405.8086B
  |access-date= 9 February 2017}}</ref>

<ref name="MPC-Discoverers">{{cite web
  |title      = Minor Planet Discoverers (by number)
  |work       = Minor Planet Center
  |url        = http://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/lists/MPDiscsNum.html
  |date       = 12 January 2017
  |access-date = 2 February 2017}}</ref>

}} <!-- end of reflist -->

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20151024002715/http://neat.jpl.nasa.gov/ Near Earth Asteroid Tracking]

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[[Category:Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking| ]]
[[Category:Astronomical surveys]]
[[Category:Asteroid surveys]]
[[Category:Astronomical discoveries by institution]]
[[Category:Discoveries by NEAT|*]]
[[Category:Jet Propulsion Laboratory]]
[[Category:Near-Earth object tracking]]
[[Category:Palomar Observatory]]