Killer Space Rocks: America’s Interstellar Defense Shield

  • Share
  • Read Later

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.