Want to discover an asteroid, but don’t have your own telescope? Don’t worry! NASA’s International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC) team has just introduced a new online project on the Zooniverse platform where you can help astronomers identify new asteroids.
Join the project, and you’ll see images from the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS), managed by the University of Hawaii. The images will show candidate asteroids identified using a machine learning utility that detects moving objects. Your job will be to check these candidates and decide yes or no, asteroid or not. Your inputs will then be processed by IASC, validated, and – if you’ve indeed identified an asteroid – your discovery will be reported to the Minor Planet Center, the organization that hosts the International Astronomical Union’s database of asteroid and comet observations.
IASC has worked with volunteers searching through Pan-STARRS images for asteroids since October 2006. In the past 20 years, the program has involved over 70,000 citizen scientists in more than 100 countries. These volunteers have spotted more than 19,000 previously unreported asteroids.
“IASC has changed my life,” said one participant. “Participating in the IASC has transformed my approach to teaching physics…” said another. “This hands-on experience not only makes learning more interactive, but also inspires curiosity and a deeper appreciation for physics and space science.”
To participate in IASC’s new Zooniverse program, go to https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/iascsearch/iascs-asteroid-search.
IASC can also send batches of data and image software to your school or team. If you’re interested in participating as a team, go to https://iasc.cosmosearch.org/ to register for IASC’s monthly searches.
Looking for more opportunities to find asteroids? You can also join NASA’s Daily Minor Planet project, which searches for asteroids in images from the Catalina Sky Survey.re are limited with their nearby opportunities, so sharing this with them is a huge win…” said another.
