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- The asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter<\/strong> contains millions of asteroids. The largest are a few hundred miles across. How big are the smallest ones?<\/li>\n
- Astronomers have discovered 138 of the smallest asteroids found so far<\/strong> in the asteroid belt. They range from bus to stadium size, with the smallest about 10 meters (33 feet) across. <\/li>\n
- The astronomers, led by MIT, used a new imaging technique<\/strong> and data from the Webb space telescope to find the little asteroids.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The millions of asteroids in the main asteroid belt between the 4th planet Mars and and 5th planet Jupiter are known to range in size. The largest, like asteroid Vesta, are a few hundred miles across. But how small are the smallest ones? On December 9, 2024, researchers led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), using NASA\u2019s Webb Space Telescope, said they\u2019ve discovered the smallest asteroids found so far in the main belt, 138 of them. They range from bus to stadium size, with the smallest about 10 meters (33 feet) across. In addition, the researchers said that the new detection method can also help astronomers track small asteroids that could potentially hit Earth.<\/p>\n
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New method to look for the smallest asteroids<\/h3>\n
How did the researchers find these little asteroids so far away? They devised a new method to look for small asteroids in the main asteroid belt. Interestingly, it uses a technique also used for finding exoplanets, or worlds orbiting distant stars. It\u2019s the shifting and stacking imaging technique, first developed in the 1990s. Basically, multiple images of the same field of view are shifted and stacked to see whether an otherwise faint object can be discerned among the background noise. Finding small asteroids with this method isn\u2019t easy.<\/p>\n
Using this technique to search for asteroids, the researchers said, requires significant computer resources. That\u2019s because astronomers need to test a large number of possible scenarios for where small asteroids are predicted to be. Altogether, they\u2019d need to shift through thousands of images.<\/p>\n
The first attempts used data from the SPECULOOS (Search for habitable Planets EClipsing ULtra-cOOl Stars) survey. They used state-of-the-art graphics processing units that could process an enormous amount of imaging data at high speeds. For the second attempt, the team used data from a telescope in Antarctica. The results were promising, showing that many new asteroids could be discovered in this way.<\/p>\n
New near-Earth asteroids<\/h3>\n
At first, the technique was used successfully in detecting new small asteroids closer to Earth. Now, the researchers have used the new method to search for small asteroids in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Lead author Artem Burdanov in MIT\u2019s Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences said:<\/p>\n
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We have been able to detect near-Earth objects down to 10 meters in size when they are really close to Earth. We now have a way of spotting these small asteroids when they are much farther away, so we can do more precise orbital tracking, which is key for planetary defense [that is, in finding, tracking, and better understanding asteroids that could pose an impact hazard to Earth].<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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Astronomers have found the smallest asteroids ever detected in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter. The team\u2019s detection method, which identified 138 space rocks ranging from bus- to stadium-sized, could aid in tracking potential impacts. pic.twitter.com\/WH9RK8sWJ3<\/a><\/p>\n
- Astronomers have discovered 138 of the smallest asteroids found so far<\/strong> in the asteroid belt. They range from bus to stadium size, with the smallest about 10 meters (33 feet) across. <\/li>\n
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