Related papers: Near-Earth Object Orbit Linking with the Large Syn…
The growing density of satellites in low-Earth orbit (LEO) presents serious challenges to space sustainability, primarily due to the increased risk of in-orbit collisions. Traditional ground-based tracking systems are constrained by latency…
Digital tracking detects faint solar system bodies by stacking many images along hypothesized orbits, revealing objects that are undetectable in every individual exposure. Previous searches have been restricted to small areas and short time…
A primary goal of the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) is to detect and measure the abundance of biosignature molecules, such as water (H2O) and oxygen (O2), in the atmosphere of Earth analogs. This is expected to require deep…
A large wide-field telescope and camera with optical throughput over 200 m^2 deg^2 -- a factor of 50 beyond what we currently have -- would enable the detection of faint moving or bursting optical objects: from Earth threatening asteroids…
Near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) in the 1-100 meter size range are estimated to be $\sim$1,000 times more numerous than the $\sim$15,000 currently-catalogued NEAs, most of which are in the 0.5-10 kilometer size range. Impacts from 10-100 meter…
Detecting Earth twins remains challenging because their shallow, long-period transits are difficult to distinguish from background noise. Motivated by the challenge, we developed Segmented-Polynomial-fitting Least Squares (SPLS), a new…
With the rapid development of space exploration, space debris has attracted more attention due to its potential extreme threat, leading to the need for real-time and accurate debris tracking. However, existing methods are mainly based on…
We describe a new iteration method to estimate asteroid coordinates, which is based on the subpixel Gaussian model of a discrete object image. The method operates by continuous parameters (asteroid coordinates) in a discrete observational…
Fast moving celestial objects are characterized by velocities across the celestial sphere that significantly differ from the motions of background stars. In observational images, these objects exhibit distinct shapes, contrasting with the…
Laser ablation of a Near-Earth Object (NEO) on a collision course with Earth produces a cloud of ejecta which exerts a thrust on the NEO, deflecting it from its original trajectory. Ablation may be performed from afar by illuminating an…
Context. The study of planet-crossing asteroids is of both practical and fundamental importance. As they are closer than asteroids in the Main Belt, we have access to a smaller size range, and this population frequently impacts planetary…
We determine the possible detection rate of asteroids with the Bering mission. In particular we examine the outcome of the Bering mission in relation to the populations of Near-Earth Asteroids and main belt asteroids. This is done by…
We analyzed data from the first year of a survey for Near Earth Objects (NEOs) that we are carrying out with the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) on the 4-meter Blanco telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory. We implanted…
Long-term integrations of asteroid orbits with high-accuracy numerical integrators are essential for understanding dynamical evolution and ejection from the Solar System, but are computationally expensive. Here, we investigate the dynamical…
The Chinese Space Station Optical Survey (CSS-OS) is a mission to explore the vast universe. This mission will equip a 2-meter space telescope to perform a multi-band NUV-optical large area survey (over 40% of the sky) and deep survey (~1%…
Given the compositional diversity of asteroids, and their distribution in space, it is impossible to consider returning samples from each one to establish their origin. However, the velocity and molecular composition of primary minerals,…
We report measured spectral properties for more than 1000 NEOs, representing>5% of the currently discovered population. Thermal flux detected below 2.5 {\mu}m allows us to make albedo estimates for nearly 50 objects, including two comets.…
The continuing monitoring and surveying of the nearby space to detect Near Earth Objects (NEOs) and Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs) are essential because of the threats that this kind of objects impose on the future of our planet. We need more…
The Legacy Survey of Space and Time, to be conducted with the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, is poised to revolutionize our understanding of the Solar System by providing an unprecedented wealth of data on various objects, including the elusive…
In the preparation for ESA's Euclid mission and the large amount of data it will produce, we train deep convolutional neural networks on Euclid simulations classify solar system objects from other astronomical sources. Using transfer…