Skip to main content

NASA releases asteroid hunting software to the general public

By

New software based on an algorithm developed in an open competition hosted by NASA improves the detection rate of potentially hazardous near-Earth asteroids. The software comes in the form of a free-to-download application, capable of being run from most laptops or desktops, transforming any amateur astronomer into a seasoned asteroid hunter.
The standard method of asteroid detection is carried out by imaging a single patch of sky at multiple occasions over a period of time, and searching for asteroids that appear as star-like objects in the images. This technique pre-dates the 1930 discovery of Pluto, however nowadays there are too many eyes in the sky, collecting too much data for the task to be tackled by hand.
To keep on top of the problem, specialized computer algorithms were created in order to efficiently search through images, highlighting asteroids that could constitute a threat to Earth, or possibly even present an attractive target for redirection into a lunar orbit for a future manned exploration and resource extraction mission.
However, there are significant limitations to the current generation of asteroid hunting algorithms. Often they are either not sensitive enough to pick up the objects, or instead, provide false positive readings due to imperfections in the data.
The Asteroid Data Hunter competition offered a US$55,000 prize pool for the development of an improved asteroid hunting algorithm. The winning solution from each of the sub-categories of the competition were then used by NASA and its partner Planetary Resources Inc. to form the basis of the new application.
The finished software is reportedly more sensitive and less prone to picking up imperfections in the data, with an initial analysis of asteroids existing between Mars and Jupiter showing a 15 percent improvement in detection rates.
Amateur astronomers will simply have to capture an image through their telescopes, and run it through the application, which will then inform the user whether what they are seeing is a known asteroid, or a new discovery.
Whilst an asteroid impact triggering an extinction event is incredibly unlikely in the near future, such strikes have occurred on a periodic cycle throughout our planet's history. It is possible that advances in the field of asteroid detection may one day foresee and ultimately prevent the extinction of our own species.
Keen amateur astronomers can download the application from Topcoder.
Source: NASA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wind Turbines

By
The Bahrain World Trade Center is the first skyscraper to have wind turbines integrated into the structure of the building.Three large wind turbines are suspended between two office towers. The towers are aerodynamically tapered to funnel wind and draw air into the turbines. This airfoil tapering allows the wind to enter the turbines at a perpendicular angle and increases air speed as much as 30 percent in each of the 95 ft wide turbine rotors. The turbines supply about 15 percent of the electricity used by the skyscraper - approximately the same amount of electricity used by 300 homes. Source: www.norwin.dk
Post a Comment
Read more

New record energy efficiency for artificial photosynthesis

By
As the world moves towards developing new avenues of renewable energy, the efficiencies of producing fuels such as hydrogen must increase to the point that they rival or exceed those of conventional energy sources to make them a viable alternative. Now researchers at Monash University in Melbourne claim to have created a solar-powered device that produces hydrogen at a world-record 22 percent efficiency, which is a significant step towards making cheap, efficient hydrogen production a reality. Efficiency records for solar-powered hydrogen production have continued to rise over the years, and much more rapidly as the technology and techniques improve. Even as late as December last year  Gizmag reported  a solar-driven hydrogen record efficiency at the time of just 12.3 percent, so this new record shows a very healthy 10 percent improvement on that and beats out the previous record of 18 percent. Splitting water using electricity to produce hydrogen and oxygen has been a...
Post a Comment
Read more

Edible water balloons that could get rid of the need for plastic bottles

By
In case you didn’t know, bottled water is destroying the planet. We know that we need to be drinking plenty of water. It’s important. But the plastic bottles they’re sold in are terrible for the environment. One solution is using reusable bottles that you can fill from any nearby taps instead of buying a new bottle each time. Another solution is much more exciting. A group of engineers from Skipping Rocks Lab have developed a wonderful thing called The Ooho!. It’s a globe filled water that you can pop in your mouth whole. The outer shell is made of algae, so it’s edible and biodegradable. Meaning there’s no need for packaging or plastic – the globes of water are self-contained and ready to consume. Exciting, right? Plus they’re wobbly and they look cool, which is always a bonus. The team have now created a crowdfunding page to make their creation available to the public, with goals of selling The Ooho! at festival and marathons within the next 12 m...
Post a Comment
Read more