View source for Pan-STARRS

{{Short description|Multi-telescope astronomical survey}}
{{About|the [[astronomical survey]] program|the Pan-STARRS comet|C/2011 L4|other things called "Pan-STARRS"|list of Pan-STARRS discoveries}}
{{Infobox astronomical survey
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[[File:Pan-STARRS Observatory (2019-12-4315).jpg|thumb|For four years beginning in May 2010, the Pan-STARRS observatory surveyed the entire three-quarters of the sky visible from Hawaii many times in many colors of light. One of the survey's goals was to look for moving objects and transient or variable objects, including asteroids that could potentially threaten the Earth.]]
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
The '''Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System''' ('''Pan-STARRS1'''; [[List of observatory codes|obs. code]]: [[IAU code#F51|F51]] and '''Pan-STARRS2''' obs. code: [[IAU code#F52|F52]]) located at [[Haleakala Observatory]], Hawaii, US, consists of astronomical [[camera]]s, [[telescope]]s and a computing facility that is [[Astronomical survey|surveying the sky]] for moving or variable objects on a continual basis, and also producing accurate [[astrometry]] and [[photometry (astronomy)|photometry]] of already-detected objects. In January 2019 the second Pan-STARRS data release was announced. At 1.6 [[petabyte]]s, it is the largest volume of astronomical data ever released.

== Description ==
[[File:NEA by survey.svg|thumb|left|Number of [[near-Earth object|NEO]]s detected by various projects:
{| style="width: 100%; margin-bottom: 8px;"
|-
| valign=top width=50% |
{{legend2|#4363D8|border=1px solid #333|[[Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research|LINEAR]]}}<br />
{{legend2|#F58231|border=1px solid #333|[[Near Earth Asteroid Tracking|NEAT]]}}<br />
{{legend2|#E6194B|border=1px solid #333|[[Spacewatch]]}}<br />
{{legend2|#FFFF19|border=1px solid #333|[[LONEOS]]}}<br />
{{legend2|#3CB44B|border=1px solid #333|[[Catalina Sky Survey|CSS]]}}
| valign=top |
{{legend2|#F032E6|border=1px solid #333|Pan-STARRS}}<br />
{{legend2|#469990|border=1px solid #333|[[NEOWISE]]}}<br />
{{legend2|#42D4F4|border=1px solid #333|[[Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System|ATLAS]]}}<br />
{{legend2|#9A6324|border=1px solid #333|Other-US}}<br />
{{legend2|#A9A9A9|border=1px solid #333|Others}}
|}]]
The Pan-STARRS Project is a collaboration between the University of Hawaiʻi [[Institute for Astronomy (Hawaii)|Institute for Astronomy]], [[MIT]] [[Lincoln Laboratory]], [[MHPCC#Maui High Performance Computing Center (MHPCC)|Maui High Performance Computing Center]] and [[Science Applications International Corporation]]. Telescope construction was funded by the [[U.S. Air Force]].

By detecting differences from previous observations of the same areas of the sky, Pan-STARRS is discovering many new [[asteroid]]s,<ref name="MPC-Discoverers"/> [[comet]]s, [[variable star]]s, [[supernova]]e and other celestial objects. Its primary mission is now to detect [[Near-Earth Object]]s that threaten [[impact event]]s and it is expected to create a database of all objects visible from Hawaii (three-quarters of the entire sky) down to [[apparent magnitude]] 24.  Construction of Pan-STARRS was funded in large part by the U.S. [[Air Force Research Laboratory]].  Additional funding to complete Pan-STARRS2 came from the [[NASA]] [[Near Earth Object]] Observation Program, which also supplies most of the funding to operate the telescopes.  The Pan-STARRS NEO survey searches all the sky north of [[declination]] −47.5.<ref name="DPS54_Pan-STARRS">{{Cite conference |last1=Wainscoat |first1=Richard |last2=Lilly |first2=Eva |last3=Weryk |first3=Rob |last4=Huber |first4=Mark |last5=Fairlamb |first5=John |last6=Chambers |first6=Kenneth |date=13-17 April 2015 |title=The Pan-STARRS search for Near-Earth Objects |conference=4th IAA Planetary Defense Conference |location= Frascati, Roma, Italy |url=https://iaaspace.org/wp-content/uploads/iaa/Scientific%20Activity/conf/pdc2015/IAA-PDC-15-02-01.pdf |access-date=5 February 2025 }}</ref>

The first Pan-STARRS telescope (PS1) is located at the summit of [[Haleakalā]] on [[Maui]], [[Hawaii]], and went online on 6 December 2008 under the administration of the [[University of Hawaiʻi]].<ref name="Economist">{{cite news |url=http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12719347 |title=Watching and waiting |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |date=2008-12-04 |access-date=2008-12-06 |type=From the print edition}}</ref><ref name="TecRev">{{cite web |url=http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/21705/page1/ |title=Giant Camera Tracks Asteroids |author=Robert Lemos |website=[[MIT]] Technology Review |date=2008-11-24 |access-date=2008-12-06 |archive-date=29 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111229141015/http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/21705/page1/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> PS1 began full-time science observations on 13 May 2010<ref>{{cite press release |date=16 June 2010 |website=Institute for Astronomy |url=http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/info/press-releases/PS1/ |title=Pan-STARRS 1 Telescope Begins Science Mission |publisher=University of Hawaiʻi |access-date=1 May 2016}}</ref> and the PS1 Science Mission ran until March 2014. Operations were funded by the PS1 Science Consortium, PS1SC, a consortium including the [[Max Planck Society]] in Germany, [[National Central University]] in Taiwan, [[University of Edinburgh|Edinburgh]], [[Durham University|Durham]] and [[Queen's University Belfast|Queen's Belfast]] Universities in the UK, and [[Johns Hopkins University|Johns Hopkins]] and [[Harvard University|Harvard]] Universities in the United States and the [[Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope]] Network. Consortium observations for the all sky (as visible from Hawaii) survey were completed in April 2014.

Having completed PS1, the Pan-STARRS Project focused on building Pan-STARRS 2 (PS2), for which first light was achieved in 2013, with full science operations scheduled for 2014<ref>{{cite web |url=http://events.asiaa.sinica.edu.tw/meeting/20131014/talk/2013101610_Talk_Wen-PingChen.pdf |author=Wen-Ping Chen |title=Current Status of the Pan-STARRS Project and Beyond |date=16 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427010400/http://events.asiaa.sinica.edu.tw/meeting/20131014/talk/2013101610_Talk_Wen-PingChen.pdf |archive-date=2014-04-27}}</ref> and then the full array of four telescopes, sometimes called PS4. Completing the array of four telescopes is estimated at a total cost of US$100 million for the entire array.<ref name="Economist" />

As of mid-2014, Pan-STARRS 2 was in the process of being commissioned.<ref>{{cite book |date=22 July 2014 |last1=Morgan |first1=Jeffrey S. |last2=Burgett |first2=William |last3=Onaka |first3=Peter |editor3-first=Helen J |editor3-last=Hall |editor2-first=Roberto |editor2-last=Gilmozzi |editor1-first=Larry M |editor1-last=Stepp |title=Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes V |chapter-url=http://proceedings.spiedigitallibrary.org/data/Conferences/SPIEP/80055/91450Y.pdf |publisher=SPIE Digital Library |chapter=The Pan-STARRS Project in 2014 |volume=9145 |pages=339–356 |doi=10.1117/12.2055680 |s2cid=123663899 |access-date=1 May 2016}}</ref> In the wake of substantial funding problems,<ref>{{cite press release |website=Institute for Astronomy |url=http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/info/press-releases/Pan-STARRS_Donation/ |title=$3M Donation for Pan-STARRS |publisher=University of Hawaiʻi |access-date=1 May 2016}}</ref> no clear timeline existed for additional telescopes beyond the second. In March 2018, Pan-STARRS 2 was credited by the [[Minor Planet Center]] for the discovery of the potentially hazardous Apollo asteroid {{LoMP|515767|{{mp|(515767) 2015 JA|2}}}}, its first minor-planet discovery made at Haleakala on 13 May 2015.<ref name="MPC-515767">{{cite web |title = (515767) 2015 JA2 |work = Minor Planet Center |url = https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=515767 |access-date = 3 April 2018}}</ref>

== Instruments ==
{{Citations needed section|date=March 2020|reason=This section has a lot of facts but only one cite}}
Pan-STARRS currently (2018) consists of two 1.8-m [[Ritchey–Chrétien telescope]]s located at [[Haleakala]] in [[Hawaii]].

The initial telescope, PS1, saw first light using a low-resolution camera in June 2006. The telescope has a 3° field of view, which is extremely large for telescopes of this size, and is equipped with what was the largest digital camera ever built, recording almost 1.4 billion pixels per image. The focal plane has 60 separately mounted close packed CCDs arranged in an 8 × 8 array. The corner positions are not populated, as the optics do not illuminate the corners. Each CCD device, called an Orthogonal Transfer Array (OTA), has 4800 × 4800 pixels, separated into 64 cells, each of 600 × 600 pixels. This gigapixel camera or 'GPC' saw first light on 22 August 2007, imaging the [[Andromeda Galaxy]].

After initial technical difficulties that were later mostly solved, PS1 began full operation on 13 May 2010.<ref name="bhandw">{{cite web|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/06/100622-science-space-digital-camera-asteroid-telescope|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100626113308/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/06/100622-science-space-digital-camera-asteroid-telescope/|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 June 2010|title=World's Largest Digital Camera to Watch for Killer Asteroids|last=Handwerk|first=Brian|date=22 June 2010|publisher=National Geographic News|access-date=26 June 2010}}</ref>  [[Nick Kaiser]], principal investigator of the Pan-STARRS project, summed it up, saying, "PS1 has been taking science-quality data for six months, but now we are doing it dusk-to-dawn every night."{{Citation needed|date=March 2020|reason="quote: June 15, 2010" needs a complete cite}} The PS1 images, however, remain slightly less sharp than initially planned, which significantly affects some scientific uses of the data.

Each image requires about 2 gigabytes of storage and exposure times will be 30 to 60 seconds (enough to record objects down to [[apparent magnitude]] 22), with an additional minute or so used for computer processing. Since images are taken on a continuous basis, about 10 terabytes of data are acquired by PS1 every night. Comparing against a database of known unvarying objects compiled from earlier observations will yield objects of interest: anything that has changed brightness and/or position for any reason. As of June 30, 2010, University of Hawaiʻi in Honolulu received an $8.4 million contract modification under the PanSTARRS multi-year program to develop and deploy a telescope data management system for the project.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/8M-for-Astronomy-Asteroid-Assessment-04828|title=PanSTARRS: Astronomy Asteroid Assessment }}</ref>

The very large field of view of the telescopes and the relatively short exposure times enable approximately 6000 square degrees of sky to be imaged every night. The entire sky is 4π [[steradian]]s, or 4π × (180/π)<sup>2</sup> ≈ 41,253.0 square degrees, of which about 30,000 square degrees are visible from Hawaii, which means that the entire sky can be imaged in a period of 40 hours (or about 10 hours per night on four days). Given the need to avoid times when the [[Moon]] is bright, this means that an area equivalent to the entire sky will be surveyed four times a month, which is entirely unprecedented. By the end of its initial three-year mission in April 2014, PS1 had imaged the sky 12 times in each of 5 [[Astronomical filter|filter]]s ('g', 'r', 'i', 'z', and 'y'). Filters 'g', 'r', and 'i' have the bandpasses of the [[Sloan Digital Sky Survey|Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS)]] filters. (Midpoints and bandwidths at half maximum are 464 nm and 128 nm, 658 nm and 138 nm, and 806 nm and 149 nm, respectively.) The'z' filter has the SDSS midpoint (900 nm), but its longwave cutoff avoids water absorptions bands beginning at 930 nm. The shortwave cutoff of the 'y' filter is set by the water absorption bands that end around 960 nm. The longwave cutoff band is currently at 1030 nm to avoid the worst of the detector sensitivity to temperature variations.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://panstarrs.ifa.hawaii.edu/project/people/siegmund/Telescope/20030523_Filters/|title=Pan-STARRS bandpass filters}}</ref>

== Science ==
[[File:Asteroid-2016HO3-20160427.jpg|thumb|Asteroid [[469219 Kamoʻoalewa]] has an orbit around the Sun that keeps it as a constant companion of Earth. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech]]
Pan-STARRS is currently mostly funded by a grant from the NASA [[Near Earth Object]] Observations program. It therefore spends 90% of its observing time in dedicated searches for Near Earth Objects.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

Systematically surveying the entire sky on a continuous basis is an unprecedented project and is expected to produce a dramatically larger number of discoveries of various types of celestial objects. For instance, the current leading asteroid discovery survey, the [[Mount Lemmon Survey]],{{efn|Mt. Lemmon Survey (G96) is a part of [[Catalina Sky Survey]], another two parts are [[Siding Spring Survey]] (E12) and Catalina Sky Survey (703) itself.}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.minorplanetcenter.org/iau/lists/YearlyBreakdown.html |title=Summary of PHA and NEA Discoveries by Discoverers |publisher=IAU Minor Planet Center |access-date=1 December 2017}}</ref> reaches an [[apparent magnitude]] of 22 [[UBV photometric system|V]]. Pan-STARRS will go about one  magnitude fainter and cover the entire sky visible from Hawaii.{{Citation needed|date=March 2014}} The ongoing survey will also complement the efforts to map the infrared sky by the NASA [[Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer|WISE orbital telescope]], with the results of one survey complementing and extending the other.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

The second data release, Pan-STARRS DR2, announced in January 2019, is the largest volume of astronomical data ever released. At over 1.6 petabytes of images, it is equivalent to 30,000 times the text content of Wikipedia. The data reside in the [[Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes]] (MAST).<ref name="Sci News">{{cite web |title=Pan-STARRS Astronomers Issue Largest Astronomical Data Release Ever |url=http://www.sci-news.com/astronomy/pan-starrs-second-data-release-06861.html |website=Sci News |date=30 January 2019 |access-date=1 February 2019}}</ref>

=== Military limitations (until end 2011) ===
According to Defense Industry Daily,<ref name=DID-PS-limits>{{cite web |url=http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/8M-for-Astronomy-Asteroid-Assessment-04828 |title=PanSTARRS: Astronomy & Asteroid Assessment |date=30 June 2010 |website=Defense Industry Daily}}</ref> significant limitations were put on the PS1 survey to avoid recording sensitive objects. [[Streak detection]] software (known as "Magic") was used to censor pixels containing information about satellites in the image.  Early versions of this software were immature, leaving a [[Fill factor (image sensor)|fill factor]] of 68% of the full field of view (which figure includes gaps between the detectors), but by March 2010 this had improved to 76%, a small reduction from the approximately 80% available.{{Citation needed|date=January 2022}}

At the end of 2011, the USAF completely eliminated the masking requirement (for all images, past and future). Thus, with the exception of a few non-functioning OTA cells, the entire field of view can be used.{{Citation needed|date=April 2012}}

=== Solar System ===
[[File:14060-Asteroid-P2013R3-Disintegration-20140306.jpg|thumb|right|upright=2|Disintegration of main-belt comet [[Main-belt comet#P/2013 R3|P/2013 R3]] observed by the [[Hubble Space Telescope]] (6 March 2014)<ref name="NASA-20140306">{{cite press release |title=NASA's Hubble Telescope Witnesses Asteroid's Mysterious Disintegration |url=http://www.nasa.gov/press/2014/march/nasas-hubble-telescope-witnesses-asteroids-mysterious-disintegration-1 |date=6 March 2014 |work=[[NASA]] |access-date=6 March 2014 }}</ref>]]
In addition to the large number of expected discoveries in the [[asteroid belt]], Pan-STARRS is expected to detect at least 100,000 [[Jupiter trojan]]s (compared to 2900 known as of end-2008); at least 20,000 [[Kuiper belt]] objects (compared to 800 known as of mid-2005); thousands of trojan asteroids of Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune (currently eight [[Neptune trojan]]s are known,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.minorplanetcenter.org/iau/lists/NeptuneTrojans.html |title=List Of Neptune Trojans |publisher=IAU Minor Planet Center}}</ref> none for Saturn, and one for Uranus<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.minorplanetcenter.org/iau/lists/NeptuneTrojans.html |title=List Of Uranus Trojans |publisher=IAU Minor Planet Center}}</ref>); and large numbers of [[Centaur (minor planet)|centaur]]s and [[comet]]s.

Apart from dramatically adding to the number of known Solar System objects, Pan-STARRS will remove or mitigate the observational bias inherent in many current surveys. For instance, among currently known objects there is a bias favoring low orbital [[inclination]], and thus an object such as {{dp|Makemake}} escaped detection until recently despite its bright apparent magnitude of 17, which is not much fainter than [[Pluto]]. Also, among currently known comets, there is a bias favoring those with short [[perihelion]] distances. Reducing the effects of this observational bias will enable a more complete picture of Solar System dynamics. For instance, it is expected that the number of Jupiter trojans larger than 1&nbsp;km may in fact roughly match the number of asteroid-belt objects, although the currently known population of the latter is several orders of magnitude larger. Pan-STARRS data will elegantly complement the WISE (infrared) survey. WISE infrared images will permit an estimate of size for asteroids and trojan objects tracked over longer periods of time by Pan-STARRS.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

In 2017, Pan-STARRS detected the first known [[Interstellar comet|interstellar object]], [[1I/ʻOumuamua|1I/2017 U1 'Oumuamua]], passing through the Solar System.<ref name="arstechnica"/> During the formation of a planetary system, it is thought that a very large number of objects are ejected due to gravitational interactions with planets (as many as 10<sup>13</sup> such objects in the case of the Solar System). Objects ejected from planetary systems of other stars might plausibly be throughout the Milky Way and some may pass through the Solar System.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

Pan-STARRS may detect collisions involving small asteroids. These are quite rare and none have yet been observed, but with a dramatic increase in the number of asteroids discovered it is expected from statistical considerations that some collision events may be observed.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

In November 2019, a review of images from Pan-STARRS revealed that the telescope had captured the disintegration of asteroid [[P/2016 G1]].<ref name=nytimes2019-11-26/>  The {{convert | 1300 | ft | m}} asteroid was struck by a smaller object, and gradually fell apart.  Astronomers speculate that the object that struck the asteroid may have massed only {{convert | 1 | kg | lb}}, traveling at {{convert | 11000 | mph | kph}}.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

=== Beyond the Solar System ===
It is expected that Pan-STARRS will discover an extremely large number of [[variable star]]s, including such stars in other nearby [[galaxy|galaxies]]; this may lead to the discovery of previously unknown [[dwarf galaxy|dwarf galaxies]]. In discovering numerous [[Cepheid variable]]s and [[eclipsing binary]] stars, it will help determine distances to nearby galaxies with greater precision. It is expected to discover many Type Ia [[supernova]]e in other galaxies, which are important in studying the effects of [[dark energy]], and also optical afterglows of [[gamma ray burst]]s.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

Because very young stars (such as [[T Tauri star]]s) are usually variable, Pan-STARRS should discover many of these and improve our understanding of them. It is also expected that Pan-STARRS may discover many [[extrasolar planet]]s by observing their [[astronomical transit|transits]] across their parent stars, as well as [[gravitational microlensing]] events.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

Pan-STARRS will also measure [[proper motion]] and [[parallax]] and should thereby discover many [[brown dwarf]]s, [[white dwarf]]s, and other nearby faint objects, and it should be able to conduct a complete census of all stars within 100 [[parsec]]s of the [[Sun]]. Prior proper motion and parallax surveys often did not detect faint objects such as the recently discovered [[Teegarden's star]], which are too faint for projects such as [[Hipparcos]].{{cn|date=April 2025}}

Also, by identifying stars with large parallax but very small proper motion for follow-up [[radial velocity]] measurements, Pan-STARRS may even be able to permit the detection of hypothetical [[Nemesis (hypothetical star)|Nemesis]]-type objects if these actually exist.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

=== Selected discoveries ===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Designation !! Reported /<br />Discovered !! class="unsortable"|Comments !!
|-
|  {{mp|2010 ST|3}} || {{dts|16 September 2010}} || this [[Near-Earth object#Near-Earth asteroids|NEA]], which at the time of discovery had a very slight possibility of colliding with Earth in 2098, was discovered by Pan-STARRS on 16 September 2010. This is the first NEA to be discovered by the Pan-STARRS program. The object is 30–65 meters across,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2010+ST3 |title=JPL Small-Body Database Browser |access-date=1 May 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Glossary: H (absolute magnitude) |url=http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/glossary/h.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010302182040/http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/glossary/h.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 March 2001 |website=CNEOS |publisher=JPL |access-date=1 May 2016}}</ref> similar to the [[Tunguska event|Tunguska impactor]] that hit Russia in 1908. It passed within about 6 million kilometers of Earth in mid-October 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://newton.spacedys.com/neodys2/index.php?pc=1.1.8&n=2010%20ST3 |title=2010ST3 ▹ {{small|CLOSE APPROACHES}} |website=NEODyS-2 |access-date=1 May 2016}}</ref> ||01
|-
| {{mpl|2012 GX|17}} || {{dts|14 April 2012}} || this faint ~22nd-magnitude object was initially considered a promising [[Neptune]] {{L5}} [[Trojan (astronomy)|trojan]] candidate.<ref name=coorbital>{{cite journal
  |last1=de la Fuente Marcos |first1=C.
  |last2=de la Fuente Marcos |first2=R. |title=Four temporary Neptune co-orbitals: (148975) 2001 XA255, (310071) 2010 KR59, (316179) 2010 EN65, and 2012 GX17
  |journal=Astronomy and Astrophysics |volume=547 |id=L2 |date=November 2012
  |pages=L2
 |doi=10.1051/0004-6361/201220377
  |bibcode=2012A&A...547L...2D|arxiv=1210.3466|s2cid=118622987
 }}</ref> ||02
|-
| {{mpl|2013 ND|15}} || {{dts|13 July 2013}} || this object is probably the first known [[Venus]] {{L4}} [[Trojan (astronomy)|trojan]].<ref name=Venus_trojan>{{Cite journal |title=Asteroid 2013 ND15: Trojan companion to Venus, PHA to the Earth |first1=C. |last1=de la Fuente Marcos |last2=de la Fuente Marcos |first2=R. |journal=[[Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society]] |volume=439 |issue=3 |pages=2970–2977 |doi=10.1093/mnras/stu152 |arxiv=1401.5013 |bibcode=2014MNRAS.439.2970D |date=April 2014|doi-access=free |s2cid=119262283 }}</ref> ||03
|-
| [[C/2011 L4]] || {{dts|6 June 2011}} || astronomers at the University of Hawaiʻi using the Pan-STARRS Telescope discovered comet C/2011 L4 in June 2011. At the time of discovery it was about 1.2 billion kilometers from the Sun, placing it beyond the orbit of Jupiter. The comet became visible to the naked eye when it was near perihelion in March 2013. It most likely originated in the [[Oort cloud]], a cloud of comet-like objects located in the distant outer Solar System. It was probably gravitationally disturbed by a distant passing star, sending it on a long journey toward the Sun.<ref name=Hawaii>{{cite press release |date=16 June 2011 |title=Pan-STARRS Comet C/2011 L4 |website=Institute for Astronomy |url=http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/info/press-releases/PS1CometJune2011/index.shtml |publisher=University of Hawaiʻi |access-date=1 May 2016}}</ref><ref name="MPEC2011-L33">{{cite web |date=8 June 2011 |title=MPEC 2011-L33 : COMET C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS) |publisher=IAU Minor Planet Center |url=http://www.minorplanetcenter.net/mpec/K11/K11L33.html |access-date=1 December 2017}}</ref> ||04
|-
| [[PS1-10afx]] || {{dts|31 August 2010}} || a unique hydrogen-deficient superluminous supernova (SLSN) at redshift z = 1.388. Discovered first in MDS imaging on 31 August 2010.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Chornock |first=Ryan |display-authors=etal |title=PS1-10afx at z=1.388: Pan-STARRS1 Discovery of a New Type of Superluminous Supernova |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |year=2013 |volume=767 |issue=2 |pages=162 |doi=10.1088/0004-637X/767/2/162 |arxiv=1302.0009|bibcode=2013ApJ...767..162C |s2cid=35006667 }}</ref> The overluminosity was later found to be the result of gravitational lensing.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/04/25/mystery-of-super-supernova-ps1-10afx-solved-as-researchers-discover-hidden-galaxy-that-warped-space-time/ |title= Mystery of 'super-supernova' PS1-10afx solved as researchers discover hidden galaxy that warped space-time |author= Aileen Donnelly |date= 25 April 2014 |publisher= National Post }}</ref> ||05
|-
| [[PS1-10jh]]|| {{dts| 31 May 2010}} || the tidal disruption of a star by a supermassive black hole.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Nature |volume=485 |issue=7397 |pages=217–220 |year=2012 |title=An ultraviolet-optical flare from the tidal disruption of a helium-rich stellar core |display-authors=1 |first1=S.|last1=Gezari |first2=R.|last2=Chornock |first3=A.|last3=Rest |first4=M.E.|last4=Huber |first5=K.|last5=Forster |first6=E.|last6=Berger |first7=P.J.|last7=Challis |first8=J.D.|last8=Neill |first9=D.C.|last9=Martin |first10=T.|last10=Heckman |first11=A.|last11=Lawrence |first12=C.|last12=Norman |first13=G.|last13=Narayan |first14=R.J.|last14=Foley |first15=G.H.|last15=Marion |first16=D.|last16=Scolnic |first17=L.|last17=Chomiuk |first18=A.|last18=Soderberg |first19=K.|last19=Smith |first20=R.P.|last20=Kirshner |first21=A.G.|last21=Riess |first22=S.J.|last22=Smartt |first23=C.W.|last23=Stubbs |first24=J.L.|last24=Tonry |first25=W.M.|last25=Wood-Vasey |first26=W.S.|last26=Burgett |first27=K.C.|last27=Chambers |first28=T.|last28=Grav |first29=J.N.|last29=Heasley |first30=N.|last30=Kaiser |first31=R.-P.|last31=Kudritzki |first32=E.A.|last32=Magnier |first33=J.S.|last33=Morgan |first34=P.A.|last34=Price |doi=10.1038/nature10990 |pmid=22575962 |arxiv=1205.0252|bibcode=2012Natur.485..217G|s2cid=205228405 }}</ref> ||06
|-
| [[P/2010 T2]]|| {{dts|16 October 2010}} || this faint ~20th-magnitude object is the first comet to be discovered by the Pan-STARRS program. Even at perihelion in the summer of 2011 at 3.73&nbsp;AU it will only be magnitude 19.5. It has an orbital period of 13.2 years and is a member of the short-period Jupiter family of comets.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://transientsky.wordpress.com/2010/10/19/recent-discoveries-oct-12-to-18/ |date=19 October 2010 |title=Recent Discoveries{{Snd}} Oct 12 to 18 |publisher=Carl Hergenrother |website=The Transient Sky{{Snd}} Comets, Asteroids, Meteors}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.minorplanetcenter.org/mpec/K10/K10U07.html |title=MPEC 2010-U07 |publisher=IAU Minor Planet Center}}</ref> ||07
|-
| [[P/2012 B1]]|| {{dts|25 January 2012}} || a Pan-STARRS discovery<ref>{{cite web |url=https://minorplanetcenter.net/mpec/K12/K12B66.html |title=MPEC 2012-B66 : COMET P/2012 B1 (PANSTARRS) |publisher=IAU Minor Planet Center}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aerith.net/comet/catalog/2012B1/2012B1.html |author=Seiichi Yoshida |work=Comet Catalog |title=P/2012 B1 (PanSTARRS)}}</ref> ||08
|-
| [[P/2012 T1]]|| {{dts|6 October 2012}} || a Pan-STARRS discovery, is one of the very few known [[main-belt comets]].<ref name=paper>{{Cite journal |title= Main-Belt Comet P/2012 T1 (PANSTARRS) |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |volume=771 |id=L1 |display-authors=1 |last1=Hsieh|first1=Henry H. |last2=Kaluna|first2=Heather M. |last3=Novakovic|first3=Bojan |last4=Yang|first4=Bin |last5=Haghighipour|first5=Nader |last6=Micheli|first6=Marco |last7=Denneau|first7=Larry |last8=Fitzsimmons|first8=Alan |last9=Jedicke|first9=Robert |last10=Kleyna|first10=Jan |last11=Veres|first11=Peter |last12= Wainscoat|first12=Richard J. |last13=Ansdell|first13=Megan |last14=Elliott|first14=Garrett T. |last15=Keane|first15=Jacqueline V. |last16=Meech|first16=Karen J. |last17=Moskovitz|first17=Nicholas A. |last18=Riesen|first18=Timm E. |last19=Sheppard|first19=Scott S. |last20=Sonnett|first20=Sarah |last21=Tholen|first21=David J. |last22=Urban|first22=Laurie |last23=Kaiser|first23=Nick |last24=Chambers|first24=K. C. |last25=Burgett|first25=William S. |last26=Magnier|first26=Eugene A. |last27=Morgan|first27=Jeffrey S. |last28=Price|first28=Paul A. |year=2013 |issue= 1 |pages= L1 |arxiv=1305.5558 |doi=10.1088/2041-8205/771/1/L1 |bibcode=2013ApJ...771L...1H|s2cid=166874 }}</ref> ||09
|-
| [[C/2013 P2]] || {{dts|4 August 2013}} || a Pan-STARRS discovery, [[Manx Comet]] from [[Oort cloud]], orbital period greater than 51 million years.<ref>{{cite web|title=First Observations of the Surfaces of Objects from the Oort Cloud|url=https://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/info/press-releases/oort_objects/}}</ref> ||10
|-
| [[Main-belt comet#P/2013 R3|P/2013 R3]] || {{dts|15 September 2013}} || a Pan-STARRS discovery, disintegration observed by the [[Hubble Space Telescope]].<ref name="NASA-20140306"/> ||11
|-
| [[C/2014 S3]]|| {{dts|22 September 2014}} || a rocky comet ([[PANSTARRS]]).<ref>{{cite press release |title=First Observations of the Surfaces of Objects from the Oort Cloud |url=https://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/info/press-releases/oort_objects/ |website=Institute for Astronomy |publisher=University of Hawaiʻi |date=10 November 2014 |access-date=2 December 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Unique Fragment from Earth's Formation Returns after Billions of Years in Cold Storage |url=http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1614/ |date=29 April 2016 |website=ESO |access-date=4 May 2016}}</ref> ||12
|-
| {{mpl|2014 YX|49}} || {{dts|26 December 2014}}<ref>{{cite web |title=MPEC 2016-O10 : 2014 YX49 |url=http://www.minorplanetcenter.net/mpec/K16/K16O10.html |publisher=IAU Minor Planet Center |access-date=2 December 2017}}</ref> || a [[Trojan (astronomy)|Trojan]] of [[Uranus]], the second one ever announced.<ref name=announcement2014YX49>{{cite journal
  |last2=de la Fuente Marcos |first2=Raúl
  |last1=de la Fuente Marcos |first1=Carlos
  |title=Asteroid 2014 YX<sub>49</sub>: a large transient Trojan of Uranus
  |journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
  |date=15 May 2017
  |volume=467 |issue=2
  |arxiv=1701.05541
  |doi= 10.1093/mnras/stx197|pages=1561–1568|doi-access=free
 |bibcode=2017MNRAS.467.1561D|s2cid=118937655
 }}</ref> ||13
|-
| [[SN 2008D|SN 2008id]]|| {{dts|3 November 2008}} || a type Ia [[supernova]], confirmed by [[W. M. Keck Observatory|Keck observatory]] via [[redshift]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pan-starrs.ifa.hawaii.edu/public/project-status/supernova_discovery.html |title=Pan-STARRS' first supernova |website=Institute for Astronomy |publisher=University of Hawaiʻi |access-date=1 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160505065547/http://pan-starrs.ifa.hawaii.edu/public/project-status/supernova_discovery.html |archive-date=2016-05-05}}</ref> ||14
|-
| [[469219 Kamoʻoalewa]] || {{dts|27 April 2016}} || possibly the most stable [[quasi-satellite]] of [[Earth]].<ref name=2016HO3>{{cite journal |title=Asteroid (469219) 2016 HO3, the smallest and closest Earth quasi-satellite |first1=Carlos |last1=de la Fuente Marcos |last2=de la Fuente Marcos |first2=Raúl |journal=[[Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society]] |date=2016 |volume=462 |issue=4 |pages=3441–3456 |arxiv=1608.01518 |doi=10.1093/mnras/stw1972 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2016MNRAS.462.3441D|s2cid=118580771}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Small Asteroid Is Earth's Constant Companion |website=JPL |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=6537 |date=15 June 2016 |access-date=1 December 2017}}</ref> ||15
|-
| {{mpl|2016 UR|36}} || {{dts|25 October 2016}} || a NEO{{Snd}} seen 5 days out.<ref>{{cite web |website=Science Alert |title=NASA's New Warning System Has Spotted an Incoming Asteroid |url=https://www.sciencealert.com/nasa-s-new-warning-system-has-spotted-an-incoming-asteroid |first=Fiona |last=MacDonald |date=30 October 2016 |access-date=1 December 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Evan |last=Gough |website=Universe Today |title=NASA's New Asteroid Alert System Gives 5 Whole Days of Warning |url=http://www.universetoday.com/131737/nasas-new-asteroid-alert-system-gives-5-whole-days-warning/ |date=2 November 2016}}</ref> ||16
|-
| [[C/2017 K2]] || {{dts|21 May 2017}} || a new comet with a hyperbolic orbit and escape velocity.<ref>{{cite journal |title=A Comet Active Beyond the Crystallization Zone |display-authors=1 |first1=David |last1=Jewitt |first2=Man-To |last2=Hui |first3=Max |last3=Mutchler |first4=Harold |last4=Weaver |first5=Jing |last5=Li |first6=Jessica |last6=Agarwal |journal=Astrophysical Journal Letters |volume=847 |id=L19 |date=1 October 2017 |issue=2 |pages=L19 |doi=10.3847/2041-8213/aa88b4 |arxiv=1709.10079 |bibcode=2017ApJ...847L..19J |s2cid=119347880 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Phil |last=Plait |date=29 September 2017 |title=Astronomers Spot the Most Active Inbound Comet Ever 2.5 Billion Km Away |url=http://www.syfy.com/syfywire/astronomers-spot-the-most-distant-active-inbound-comet-ever-25-billion-km-away |website=SYFYWire |access-date=29 September 2017}}</ref> ||17
|-
| {{nowrap|[[1I/ʻOumuamua|1I/2017 U1 'Oumuamua]]}} || {{dts|19 October 2017}} || the first observation of an interstellar object.<ref name="arstechnica"/> ||18
|-
| {{LoMP|515767|{{mp|(515767) 2015 JA|2}}}} ||{{dts|31 March 2018}} || Pan-STARRS 2 (PS2) first minor-planet discovery (made on 13 May 2015) credited by the [[Minor Planet Center]] on numbering in March 2018.<ref name="MPC-515767" /> || 19
|-
| [[P/2016 G1]] || {{dts|6 March 2016}} || first observed disintegration of an asteroid, following a collision.<ref name=nytimes2019-11-26/> || 20
|-
| {{mpl|2020 MK|4}} || {{dts|24 June 2020}} || Centaur || 21
|-
| {{mpl|2023 FW13}} || {{dts|28 March 2023}} || A [[quasi-satellite]] of Earth, potentially even more stable than [[469219 Kamoʻoalewa]] above.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/does-earth-have-new-quasi-moon/|title=DOES EARTH HAVE A NEW QUASI-MOON?|first=David|last=Chandler|access-date=2023-05-21}}</ref> || 22
|}

== See also ==
* [[C/2014 G3]]
* [[Vera C. Rubin Observatory]]
* [[List of near-Earth object observation projects]]
* [[Zwicky Transient Facility]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist
|30em
|refs=
<ref name=nytimes2019-11-26>
{{cite news
| url         = https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/26/science/asteroid-belt-impact.html
| title       = This Is What It Looks Like When an Asteroid Gets Destroyed
| work        = [[The New York Times]]
| author      = Robin George Andrews
| date        = 2019-11-26
| access-date  = 2019-11-30
| quote       = Astronomers first discovered P/2016 G1 with the Pan-Starrs1 telescope in Hawaii in April 2016. Backtracking through archived images, astronomers realized that it had first been visible the previous month as a centralized collection of rocky clumps: the fractured, rubbly remnants of the asteroid, surrounded by a fine dust cloud, most likely the immediate debris jettisoned by the impact.
}}
</ref>

<ref name="MPC-Discoverers">{{cite web
  |title      = Minor Planet Discoverers (by number)
  |publisher  = [[IAU Minor Planet Center]]
  |url        = http://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/lists/MPDiscsNum.html
  |date       = 12 March 2017
  |access-date = 28 March 2017}}</ref>

<ref name="arstechnica">{{cite news |last1=Timmer|first1=John |title=First-known interstellar visitor is a bizarre, cigar-shaped asteroid |url=https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/11/first-known-interstellar-visitor-is-a-bizarre-cigar-shaped-asteroid/ |publisher=Ars Technica |date=20 November 2017 |access-date=20 November 2017}}</ref>

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

== External links ==
* [http://www.ps1sc.org PS1 Science Consortium web site]
* [http://panstarrs.stsci.edu The Pan-STARRS1 data archive home page]
* [http://www2.ess.ucla.edu/~jewitt/papers/2004/J2004.pdf Project Pan-STARRS and the Outer Solar System]
* [https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn9403 New telescope will hunt dangerous asteroids. NS 2006]
* [https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn12588-worlds-biggest-digital-camera-to-join-asteroid-search.html World's biggest digital camera to join asteroid search]
* [https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20126932.200-is-there-a-planet-x.html Is there a Planet X?]

{{Comets|nonobject=yes}}
{{Planetary defense}}
{{Portal bar|Astronomy|Stars|Spaceflight|Outer space|Solar System}}

[[Category:Optical telescopes]]
[[Category:Astronomical surveys]]
[[Category:Discoveries by Pan-STARRS|*]]
[[Category:Near-Earth object tracking]]