Scientists have made a groundbreaking discovery in the realm of asteroid detection, potentially alleviating concerns about unnoticed space rocks hurtling dangerously close to Earth. Using innovative technology, asteroid hunters have identified a staggering 27,500 previously overlooked near-Earth asteroids, a feat that could prove crucial in averting potential cataclysms in the future.
Rather than relying on conventional telescopes for stargazing, researchers developed a revolutionary algorithm known as Tracklet-less Heliocentric Orbit Recovery, or THOR. This cutting-edge algorithm functions akin to interstellar forensics, combing through archived space images to identify celestial bodies that had gone unnoticed before.
Thanks to THOR, scientists were able to pinpoint tens of thousands of new solar system objects, surpassing the combined discoveries of all telescopes worldwide in the previous year. Of particular significance were the 100 near-Earth asteroids identified, some of which skirt perilously close to our planet’s orbit, with many residing within the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
Ed Lu, executive director of the Asteroid Institute, hailed this research as a “sea change” in astronomical exploration. While none of the newfound asteroids posed an immediate threat to Earth, THOR’s capabilities could prove invaluable in identifying potentially hazardous objects and other cosmic dangers.
The traditional method of trajectory analysis involves painstakingly comparing multiple images of the same region of the sky taken over time to reconstruct an object’s orbit. However, THOR takes a different approach, connecting individual points of light observed in different images to infer their trajectories and predict their future paths.
Harnessing the vast archives of the National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab), THOR sifted through hundreds of thousands of images containing billions of light points using Google Cloud, culminating in the discovery of the overlooked asteroids in a remarkably short span of five weeks.
THOR’s co-creator, Mario Jurić, emphasized the importance of this work in pushing the boundaries of astronomical discovery beyond the limits of current techniques and telescopes. Scientists are hopeful that THOR’s capabilities will enhance the detection capabilities of space telescopes, potentially aiding in achieving the goal set by Congress in 2005 to locate a higher percentage of near-Earth asteroids, particularly those larger than 460 feet in diameter.
