Asteroid Detection System- Software Upgrade and ATLAS Increase Earth’s Nighttime Surveillance
Sources and resources
ATLAS system explanation
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-asteroid-tracking-system-now-capable-of-full-sky-search/
SENTRY II software and DART
https://interestingengineering.com/nasa-new-asteroid-collision-detection-system
Pixabay image credit
Anyone who has been watching the news lately has seen a deluge of asteroid detection pieces. Recent advancements in both hardware and software systems have allowed NASA to monitor the night sky nightly for objects that could threaten us.
We have arrived at a point in history in which we can detect asteroids throughout the entire sky. The ATLAS system funded by NASA is able to see asteroids by scanning the full night’s sky every night, which is a huge achievement. The system is operated from the University of Hawaii, and has support from both South Africa and Chile as well. The four telescopes allow scientists to see the night sky in a larger field of vision, and more consistently.
In 2021, NASA upgraded its asteroid seeking software to become much more accurate from SENTRY to SENTRY II, which helps to calculate the odds a NEO (near Earth object) will threaten Earth. Prior to the SENTRY II upgrade, it was not possible to accurately track and risk-rank these NEOs, but with the upgrade came the opportunity to become more accurate in our measures.
SENTRY II and the 4-telescope ATLAS system have allowed scientists to track NEOs in real-time using up to date technology. The question stands though if this knowledge is helpful or harmful at the current time. NASA is working to trial the DART system, a spacecraft that may be able to deflect asteroids and other NEOs that could threaten Earth. Time will tell if this is effective, but if so, this is a huge step forward for the human race in our survivability as a species. It was once accepted that NEOs could be an unavoidable extinction method, but as we progress this remains to be proven.
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