EPSS Colloquium spring-2014

The Arecibo and Goldstone planetary radars are the most powerful tools for Earth-based characterization of the physical properties and dynamics of many Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs). This characterization is essential in multiple contexts: scientific understanding of the asteroid population, impact hazard mitigation, human exploration, and resource utilization. I will review the unique role that UCLA plays in this field. Our work includes the detailed physical characterization of NEAs, orbit computations for binaries and triples, astrometric measurements, Yarkovsky drift determinations, training of radar observers, development of key hardware and software, improvements to asteroid shape modeling techniques, and development of a publicly available database for archival of asteroid radar results (http://radarastronomy.org).