PASO -- Astronomy and Space Situational Awareness in a Dark Sky Destination
Abstract
The Pampilhosa da Serra Space Observatory (PASO) is located in the center of the continental Portuguese territory, in the heart of a certified Dark Sky destination by the Starlight Foundation (Aldeias do Xisto) and has been an instrumental asset to advance science, education and astrotourism certifications. PASO hosts astronomy and Space Situational Awareness (SSA) activities including a node of the Portuguese Space Surveillance \& Tracking (SST) infrastructure network, such as a space radar currently in test phase using GEM radiotelescope, a double Wide Field of View Telescope system, a EUSST optical sensor telescope. These instruments allow surveillance of satellite and space debris in LEO, MEO and GEO orbits. The WFOV telescope offers spectroscopy capabilities enabling light curve analysis and cosmic sources monitoring. Instruments for Space Weather are being considered for installation to monitor solar activities and expand the range of SSA services.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2404.04090,
title = {PASO -- Astronomy and Space Situational Awareness in a Dark Sky Destination},
author = {Domingos Barbosa and Bruno Coelho and Miguel Bergano and Constança Alves and Alexandre C. M. Correia and Luís Cupido and José Freitas and Luís Gonçalves and Bruce Grossan and Anna Guerman and Allan K. de Almeida and Dalmiro Maia and Bruno Morgado and João Pandeirada and Valério Ribeiro and Gonçalo Rosa and George Smoot and Timothée Vaillant and Thyrso Villela and Carlos Alexandre Wuensche},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2404.04090},
year = {2024}
}
Comments
9 pages, 2 figures, Keywords: Dark Sky, radioastronomy, space, space debris, space situational awareness; Draft from Talk presented at Astronomy and Satellite Constellations: Pathways Forward, IAU Symposium 385, October 2023, Ed. C. Walker, D.Turnshek, P.Grimley, D.Galadi-Enriquez & M.Aub\'e, International Astronomical Union Proceedings Series, Cambridge University Press, 2024