Killer Space Rocks: America’s Interstellar Defense Shield

By Miral Sattar | June 18, 2010 | +

Pan-Starrs/Brett Simison

The end of the world is coming but we’re prepared for it.

Astronomers in Haleakala, Hawaii have announced that the Pan-STARRS (Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System) telescope, PS1, is fully operational. Pan-STARRS will search for killer asteroids, supernovae (exploding stars) and other objects.

The facility in Hawaii boasts one of the largest digital cameras in the world, a 1,400 megapixel (1,400,000,000 pixels) device that can photograph and map one sixth of the sky every month. Pan-STARRS will allow astronomers to track any potential threats to the Earth.

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