The implications of finding more active asteroids for science and engineering are far-reaching, including:<\/p>\n In preparation for the launch, Chandler, an NAU presidential fellow, conducted the beta review phase of the project, enlisting the help of more than 200 volunteers, who completed 4,798 classifications of 295 objects.<\/p>\n \u201cI am very, very excited the project is finally launching,\u201d he said. \u201cThe project has been years in the making, from selection by the NSF until<\/p>\n this launch. Even during the preparations for the project launch, we have made several important discoveries, including discovering a new active object and uncovering information about several previously known objects. These discoveries have led to three publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals, with another one in the works right now.\u201d<\/p>\n As part of the testing phase, the team noticed an unusual “smudge” kept showing up around one particular object. The object was a Centaur, an icy body with an orbit between Jupiter and Neptune. The team carried out follow-up observations with other telescopes and discovered the object was active, one of only about 20 active Centaurs discovered since 1929, and published their findings in the Astrophysical Journal Letters<\/em> (see related article<\/a>).<\/p>\n Although it will depend on the number of volunteers participating and how quickly they complete classifications, the duration of the project could be up to one year. Chandler hopes to recruit thousands of volunteers. No previous astronomy experience is needed; training is provided through Zooniverse, an online platform for people-powered research hosting the Active Asteroids<\/a> project.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to examine 5,000 square degrees of the sky in the Southern Hemisphere, which means there are many\u2014more than 10 million\u2014asteroid images to classify,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Co-founders of the project are Jay Kueny<\/strong> of Lowell Observatory and the University of Arizona, who began collaborating with Chandler in creating the project when he was a senior at NAU\u2014and who has since then also received a GRFP award<\/a>\u2014and NAU associate professor Chad Trujillo<\/strong>, who serves as the project’s chief science advisor. Other contributors are graduate students Annika Gustafsson<\/strong> and William Oldroyd<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The project\u2019s Science Advisory Board consists of several eminent scientists, including Henry Hsieh of the Planetary Science Institute, NAU professor David Trilling<\/strong>, NAU assistant professor Tyler Robinson<\/strong> and NAU assistant professor Michael<\/strong> Gowanlock<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Ready to classify objects? Visit the Active Asteroids<\/a> project site to get started.<\/p>\n This project was supported through NASA grants 80NSSC21K0114 and 80NSSC19K0869.<\/p>\n![\"Graphic](\"http:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wordpresst\/uploads\/sites\/153\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Unknown-300x300.png\")
<\/a>\u201cWith the generous help of citizen scientists, we hope to quadruple the number of known active asteroids and encourage study of an ambiguous population of solar system objects, knowledge of which is currently hampered due to a very small sample size,\u201d Chandler, the project founder and principal investigator, said.<\/p>\n\n
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