1. Comets & Asteroids in the PTF survey1
Comets & Asteroids in the PTF survey
PTF image of Comet ISON on Nov. 13, 2013

2. PTF Solar System Detections2
PTF Solar System Detections
In past year, PTF submitted >500,000 observations to the Minor Planet Center.
PTF is credited with
>4,000 asteroid discoveries,
including 8 near-Earth objects
and two comets named ‘Palomar’.
While >90% of asteroids in PTF were already found by other surveys, PTF enables novel and exciting asteroid science.
Above: PTF discovery images of a Jupiter Trojan asteroid, 10km in size

3. Asteroids’ reflected sunlight: What it tells us3
Asteroids’ reflected sunlight: What it tells us
Earth–Asteroid top-down
view (Sun to left)
Observed Brightness
Asteroid as viewed
from Earth
Sun–Asteroid–Earth angle

4. Asteroids’ reflected sunlight: What it tells us4
Asteroids’ reflected sunlight: What it tells us
PTF data of asteroid 2519
Predicted for a smooth sphere
Observed Brightness
Observed Brightness
Sun–Asteroid–Earth angle
Sun–Asteroid–Earth angle

5. Asteroids’ reflected sunlight: What it tells us5
Asteroids’ reflected sunlight: What it tells us
PTF data of asteroid 2519
Photo from Apollo 11 Lunar Mission
Observed Brightness
Sun–Asteroid–Earth angle
 Observed brightness increase at small angles gives information on asteroid surface dust particles

6. Asteroids’ reflected sunlight: What it tells us6
Asteroids’ reflected sunlight: What it tells us
Earth–Asteroid top-down
view (Sun to left)
Observed Brightness
Asteroid as viewed
from Earth
rotation angle

7. Asteroids’ reflected sunlight: What it tells us7
Asteroids’ reflected sunlight: What it tells us
PTF data of asteroid 2170
Predicted for simple ellipsoid
Observed Brightness
Observed Brightness
rotation angle
rotation angle
 Observed periodic brightness variation gives shape information

8. Fast-Moving Near-Earth Asteroids8
Fast-Moving Near-Earth Asteroids
PTF images of 20m-sized near-Earth asteroid 2009 HK73