THE LOIANO CAMPAIGNS FOR PHOTOMETRY AND SPECTROSCOPY OF GEOSYNCHRONOUS

A pilot program for the physical characterization of the space debris population in high Earth orbits was started at the 152cm G.D. Cassini Telescope in Loiano, operated by the INAF Astronomical Observatory of Bologna, Italy. The Ritchey - Chretien optical system has is equipped with BFOSC (Bologna Faint Object Spectrograph and Camera), a multipurpose instrument for imaging and spectroscopy, with an EEV CCD (1340x1300 px). Several BVRI photometric images of active satellites, disposed spacecraft and upper stages were acquired during one night in February 2011 and three nights in August 2011. Of course, a number of photometric calibration fields and Solar analogue stars (spectral standards) were observed for calibration purposes. A few High Area to Mass Ratio, HAMR, objects were observed and lightcurves were obtained for them. The paper presents the obtained data and the discussion on how to establish the physical nature and hence, possibly, the origin of the targets.