NASA volunteers have made a significant discovery, uncovering activity on 15 asteroids and challenging previous assumptions about the solar system.
These rare asteroids, exhibiting comet-like tails or envelopes of gas and dust, were identified through NASA's Active Asteroids project.
(Photo: Colin Orion Chandler (University of Washington))
8,000 Volunteers Examine 430,000 Images
The project enlisted over 8,000 volunteers who meticulously examined 430,000 images captured by the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) mounted on the Victor M. Blanco telescope in Chile.
Notably, nine volunteers have been recognized as co-authors in the paper presenting the findings, underscoring the collaborative effort involved in this research endeavor.
The discovery of activity on these 15 asteroids carries profound implications for our understanding of the solar system's formation and evolution. According to NASA, by studying these objects, scientists can glean insights into crucial processes, including the origins of water on Earth.
Furthermore, the identification of active asteroids may offer practical benefits for future space exploration endeavors. The same ices responsible for generating comet-like tails could potentially serve as resources for powering rockets or supplying breathable air, thus augmenting our capabilities for venturing deeper into space.
Volunteers like Virgilio Gonano from Udine, Italy, express their elation at being part of this discovery and emphasize the collaborative efforts that made it possible.
Similarly, Tiffany Shaw-Diaz from Dayton, Ohio, highlights the personal significance of contributing to the Active Asteroids project, underscoring the sense of fulfillment derived from being involved in such pioneering scientific endeavors.
The Active Asteroids Project
The Active Asteroids project, launched on August 31, 2021, through NASA's Citizen Science program hosted on the Zooniverse online platform, aimed to engage the global community in the search for active asteroids and other unusual solar system objects. Leveraging publicly available data from the Dark Energy Camera, the project's pipeline generated cutout images for volunteers to analyze.
The substantial contributions of approximately 8,300 volunteers have been instrumental in identifying previously unknown activity on 15 asteroids and one Centaur, challenging the conventional classification of these celestial bodies as inactive.
Among the asteroids identified, four are classified as active quasi-Hilda asteroids (QHAs), seven as Jupiter-family comets (JFCs), and four as active asteroids, including one main-belt comet (MBC) and three MBC candidates.
Additionally, the project has facilitated the discovery of activity on known active objects during previously unrecorded orbital epochs and the reclassification of objects based on comprehensive dynamical analyses.
"I have been a member of the Active Asteroids team since its first batch of data," said volunteer Tiffany Shaw-Diaz from Dayton, Ohio.
"And to say that this project has become a significant part of my life is an understatement. I look forward to classifying subjects each day, as long as time or health permits, and I am beyond honored to work with such esteemed scientists on a regular basis."
The volunteers' findings were further detailed in The Astronomical Journal.
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