Funds are provided to upgrade the image processing facility used in the 0.9m Spacewatch Telescope of the University of Arizona at Kitt Peak. Currently, a Solbourne computer is used to analyze images of the sky collected in drift-scan mode by a TK2048 charge-coupled device (CCD) mounted at one of the Newtonian ports of the telescope. The system processes the images in near real-time, i.e. at the rate with which the images are collected. Since September 1990, earth-approachers have been found at a rate of approximately 1.5 per month, including the first observations of asteroids in the 5 to 10 m size range. It has been found that asteroids smaller than 10 m are more numerous by two orders of magnitude than is expected by extrapolation from the frequency of larger asteroids. These enhancements to the existing computer system will double the discovery rate. Results could yield information on the origin of asteroids near the Earth. Observations made possible by this upgrade will be a key to establishing the dynamical origin of the smallest asteroids (meteorites) and their physical relation to comets and asteroids.
