Tag: B612 Foundation
-
Asteroid hunters say they’ve found 27,500 new prospects in search for space rocks
This visualization shows the solar system trajectories of asteroids discovered by ADAM and THOR. (Credit: B612 Asteroid Institute / Univ. of Wash. DiRAC Institute / OpenSpace Project) A team of asteroid hunters that includes researchers at the University of Washington says it has identified 27,500 new, high-confidence asteroid discovery candidates — not by making fresh…
-
Astronomers demonstrate how using the cloud can rev up the race to find asteroids
This visualization shows trajectories of asteroids found using ADAM (in green). Earth’s orbit is represented by a blue arc closer to the sun. (B612 Asteroid Institute / UW DiRAC Institute / Open Space Project) Astronomers have used a cloud-based technique pioneered at the University of Washington to identify and track asteroids in bunches of a…
-
Asteroid Institute adds Google Cloud and AGI as tech partners for asteroid tracking
The Asteroid Detection Analysis and Mapping software, or ADAM, can plot the courses of multiple asteroids and other celestial bodies, as shown in this visualization. (B612 Asteroid Institute via YouTube) Google Cloud and AGI (a.k.a. Analytical Graphics Inc.) have gotten on board with the B612 Asteroid Institute to develop a cloud-based platform for keeping track…
-
B612’s new Asteroid Institute enlists UW researchers to help protect our planet
How do you divert a potentially threatening asteroid? One of the suggested scenarios is to station a “gravity tractor” near the asteroid so that the gravitational interaction gradually shifts the threatening object to a non-threatening trajectory. (FIAAA / B612 Foundation Illustration / Dan Durda) The B612 Foundation is setting up an Asteroid Institute to study…
-
Nudge ’em or nuke ’em: Asteroid defense plans take shape in U.S. and Russia
An artist’s conception shows an asteroid entering Earth’s atmosphere. (Credit: NASA) What should the world do about the potential threat of a catastrophic asteroid collision? This month NASA established the Planetary Defense Coordination Office to manage the issue. Meanwhile, the Russians and the Europeans are talking about diverting nasty space rocks with nuclear weapons. All this…