The second Palomar Sky Survey

Abstract

We describe the main characteristics of the second Palomar Observatory Sky Survey, currently being taken using the Oschin telescope on Palomar Mountain. The limiting magnitudes of the POSS II plates are directly comparable with those of the SERC/ESO southern surveys, at Β_j = 22.5 mag, R_c = 20.8 mag, and I_c = 19.5 mag. We discuss the main modifications made to the telescope and the photographic methods employed in the course of the survey and compare the POSS I and POSS II plates.