Hubble image archive
Size Distribution for Unknown Asteroids in Hubble Asteroid Hunter Survey
This graph is based on Hubble Space Telescope archival data that was used to identify a largely unseen population of very small asteroids in their tracks. The asteroids were not the intended targets, but instead photobombed background stars and galaxies in Hubble images. The comp...
- Date
- Apr 18, 2024
- Mission
- Hubble Space Telescope
- Archive ID
- hubblesite-images-2024-014-01hr54vwvj9qcg2dsybdrnz9b9
This graph is based on Hubble Space Telescope archival data that was used to identify a largely unseen population of very small asteroids in their tracks. The asteroids were not the intended targets, but instead photobombed background stars and galaxies in Hubble images. The comprehensive treasure hunt required perusing 37,000 Hubble images spanning 19 years. This was accomplished by using "citizen science" volunteers and artificial intelligence algorithms. The payoff was finding 1,701 asteroid trails of previously undetected asteroids.
Credits
Illustration
Pablo García Martín (UAM), Elizabeth Wheatley (STScI)
Downloads
Source
Image and source material are credited to the official mission archive linked below.
View on NASA.gov