The potential of technology to address global challenges is often exaggerated. However, when it comes to protecting our planet from asteroid impacts, the power of computer code may indeed be our savior.
While astronomers oversee telescopes that scan the skies for stray space rocks, it is algorithms that drive their systematic movements. With such vast stretches of sky to observe, scientists rely on algorithms to identify suspicious and fast-moving objects, including asteroids that could pose a threat to Earth.
Typically, conventional algorithms require four images of a moving object taken during a single night to confirm whether it is a genuine asteroid. However, researchers at the University of Washington have developed new software called HelioLinc3D that reduces the required nightly observations by half. This enhances the efficiency of observatories in quickly identifying these potentially hazardous projectiles. Already, HelioLinc3D has uncovered a near-Earth asteroid that had been missed by previous surveys.
By analyzing data from the NASA-funded ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) survey, HelioLinc3D detected an asteroid that both ATLAS and similar surveys had failed to spot. This particular asteroid, named 2022 SF289, is approximately 600 feet long and falls into the category of “potentially hazardous” due to its size and proximity to Earth. However, although its closest approach to our planet’s orbit is within 140,000 miles (half the distance to the moon), there is no risk of impact over the next century and very likely for many millennia to come.
HelioLinc3D not only enhances existing asteroid surveys but has been specifically designed for the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile. With its massive mirror, large camera, and impressive capabilities, this observatory will provide unprecedented detail of the night sky, uncovering everything from distant collapsing stars to enigmatic asteroids lurking in the depths of our galaxy.
The Rubin Observatory aims to catalog as many celestial objects as possible, and HelioLinc3D plays a crucial role in achieving this goal. Without the software, the observatory would be unable to reveal the multitude of asteroids residing near our planet. Ari Heinze, the principal developer of HelioLinc3D and a researcher at the University of Washington, emphasized this by stating that the discovery of 2022 SF289 serves as proof of the software’s effectiveness.
To date, asteroid-hunting telescopic surveys worldwide have identified over 32,000 near-Earth asteroids. However, the larger asteroids, which have the potential to cause significant destruction on a planetary scale, are more easily detected due to their size and reflective properties. In contrast, asteroids at least 460 feet long are fainter and considerably more challenging to locate. Currently, only about 10,500 out of an estimated 25,000 of these city-destroying asteroids have been found.
Conventional algorithms used in asteroid surveys require four images taken in a single night, but this is not always feasible due to factors such as adverse weather conditions, extreme faintness of the object, or interference from brighter stars or galaxies. Consequently, an asteroid can appear in multiple survey images over several nights without being recognized, which is far from ideal for planetary defense.
The Rubin Observatory, which is scheduled to begin its decade-long sky survey in 2025, has the ability to detect exceedingly faint objects, including asteroids with the potential to devastate cities. With the assistance of HelioLinc3D, the observatory can confirm the existence of an asteroid with just two images per night, spread across three different nonconsecutive nights.
As Mario Jurić, an astronomer at the University of Washington and the leader of the HelioLinc3D project, explained, it took humanity about 200 years to go from knowing about one asteroid to uncovering a million. With their survey’s estimated start time, Jurić predicts that within three to six months, we could double the number of known asteroids. The Rubin Observatory’s advanced instruments will not only catalog asteroids but also “all moving objects,” including comets, icy bodies beyond Neptune, and interstellar entities, according to Meg Schwamb, an astronomer at Queen’s University Belfast.
Schwamb further stated that the Rubin Observatory, with the help of HelioLinc3D, will be a huge discovery engine that will redefine our understanding of the solar system. It holds the promise of uncovering fascinating remnants of our chaotic cosmic past within the dark expanse of space.
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