astronomy

Siding Spring Survey

Siding Spring Survey is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Siding Spring Survey rather than just read about it. In short: The Siding Spring Survey (SSS) was a near-Earth object search program that used the 0.5-metre Uppsala Southern Schmidt Telescope at Siding Spring Observatory, New South Wales, Australia. It was the southern hemisphere counterpart of the Catalina Sky Survey (CSS) located in the Santa Catalina Mountains on Mount Bigelow, near Tucson, Arizona, USA.

Key takeaways

Siding Spring Survey belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Siding Spring Survey to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Siding Spring Survey from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Siding Spring Survey (SSS) was a near-Earth object search program that used the 0.5-metre Uppsala Southern Schmidt Telescope at Siding Spring Observatory, New South Wales, Australia. It was the southern hemisphere counterpart of the Catalina Sky Survey (CSS) located in the Santa Catalina Mountains on Mount Bigelow, near Tucson, Arizona, USA. The survey was the only professional search for dangerous asteroids being made in the Southern Hemisphere. SSS was jointly operated by the University of Arizona and the Australian National University, with funding from NASA. SSS (IAU observatory code E12) was located at Siding Spring Observatory (IAU observatory code 413) at 31.3°S 149.1°E / -31.3; 149.1, approximately 400 km (250 mi) north-west of Sydney at an altitude of about 1,150 metres (3,770 ft). Images of 30 seconds' exposure time were collected using a 4×4K charge-coupled device at intervals and then compared with software. The survey ended in July 2013 after funding was discontinued.

Discoveries

Since 2004 the survey has discovered 400 potentially hazardous objects with a diameter greater than 100 m. In early January 2013, Robert H. McNaught discovered a new comet named C/2013 A1 using data collected while searching for asteroids. (308242) 2005 GO21

List of discovered minor planets

See also List of minor planet discoverers § Discovering dedicated institutions List of near-Earth object observation projects

References

External links Siding Spring Survey

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Siding Spring Survey

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Siding Spring Survey claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Siding Spring Survey before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Siding Spring Survey ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Siding Spring Survey

In research: Siding Spring Survey appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Siding Spring Survey in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Siding Spring Survey is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2004 establishments in Australia, 2013 disestablishments in Australia, Asteroid surveys, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Siding Spring Survey outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Siding Spring Survey in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Siding Spring Survey means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Siding Spring Survey out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Siding Spring Survey in simple terms?

Why does Siding Spring Survey matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Siding Spring Survey?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Siding Spring Survey.