Since the first mobile phone was invented in the mid-90s, the performance of these devices has advanced dramatically. Today the mobile allows us to perform tasks that a few years ago we would not have imagined. We can consult the movie billboard while downloading a file from the internet at the same time we receive an email. Even if you want to, now you can also detect dangerous asteroids.
The Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM) and the Canary Islands Institute of Astrophysics (IAC) have developed an app with which the user can identify asteroids in images taken from night telescopes. The application is called Cazasteroides and its objective is to form a network of users in the medium term who, on a regular basis, scan the sky in search of asteroids.
Of the more than 725,000 asteroids located in the solar system, 15,550 are considered near the Earth ( NEA-Near Earth Asteroid ) since they approach our planet at less than 1.3 astronomical units (1.3 times the distance that we separates from the Sun). Of all of them, the potentially dangerous ( PHA-Potentially Hazardous Asteroids ) are those that at some point could pose a danger to the Earth due to the risk of impact , with greater or lesser probability.
The asteroid with the highest risk of impact ever detected has been Apophis . The first calculations after its discovery in 2004 gave a probability of impact against the Earth of 1 in 37. This NEA, with an approximate size of 325 meters , would cause a crater of about 4 kilometers in diameter if it collided with the Earth and would have a devastating effect at the small country or state level, or it would cause a tsunami if it hits the sea. At present, it has been ruled out that this object poses a risk to humanity, ruling out any probability of impact.
The Cazasteroides app
In order to prevent the impact of these bodies, Cazasteroides has been created. A tool with which you can control the population of dangerous asteroids and contribute to the detection of new minor bodies.
Behind this application there is a principle of citizen science in which the user can collaborate with professional astronomers detecting asteroids without having to have their own telescope or being cold during long nights of observation. Through the app, the user can access the latest celestial images taken by a network of observatories , among which is the Teide Observatory of the Astrophysical Institute of the Canary Islands, the Isaac Aznar Observatory of the Alto Turia-AVA Astronomical Center located in Aras de los Olmos, the Santa Maria de Montmagastrell Observatory or the e-Eye Observatory in Extremadura, among others.
The user’s mission is to locate moving objects and identify them using a virtual pointer that recognizes the coordinates of the asteroid. The information is then reported to the application manager, who is a professional astronomer, who will confirm or reject the detection.
From the data of all the participants, a ranking of users will be created, and those with the highest success rate in the detections will receive virtual money that can be used in the remote control of the telescopes of the GLORIA network.
If you like Astronomy and want to become an asteroid fighter you can download the app in the Play Store or through the web www.cazasteroides.org
This project is funded by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT).
Amadeo Aznar, APT Observatory Group www.aptog.com [email protected]
