{"id":796835,"date":"2025-06-23T16:32:09","date_gmt":"2025-06-23T21:32:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=796835"},"modified":"2025-06-23T16:32:09","modified_gmt":"2025-06-23T21:32:09","slug":"vera-rubin-observatory-has-already-found-thousands-of-new-asteroids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=796835","title":{"rendered":"Vera Rubin Observatory has already found thousands of new asteroids"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p>\n    <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Rubin telescope has already found thousands of new asteroids\" width=\"1110\" height=\"624\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qgQ2LCpkifg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><br \/>\n    <\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<p>Amid the millions of distant stars and galaxies captured in the first images released from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory are thousands of never-before-seen asteroids whizzing around the solar system.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese two beautiful galaxies were photobombed by asteroids,\u201d said \u017deljko Ivezi\u0107 at the University of Washington in Seattle, presenting an image showing several asteroids streaking past two spiral-armed galaxies during a press briefing on 23 June.<\/p>\n<p>During just 10 hours of observing the night sky, the telescope \u2013 situated in the clear air high atop a mountain in the Chilean Andes \u2013 captured 2104 previously unknown asteroids. Of these, seven are on a trajectory that would pass near Earth, though none pose a risk of hitting us, said Ivezi\u0107.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"ArticleImage\">\n<div class=\"Image__Wrapper\"><\/div><figcaption class=\"ArticleImageCaption\">\n<div class=\"ArticleImageCaption__CaptionWrapper\">\n<p class=\"ArticleImageCaption__Title\">Researchers identified and tracked newly discovered asteroids in images taken over 10 hours<\/p>\n<p class=\"ArticleImageCaption__Credit\">NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<p>The telescope was not primarily designed to detect near-Earth objects, but to conduct a decade-long survey expanding our view of the entire universe. But the same qualities that make it useful for that purpose are also good for asteroid detection: \u201cYou need to scan the sky very fast, with a very large field of view, for a long time,\u201d said Ivezi\u0107.<\/p>\n<p>The asteroids were identified by scanning the same region of sky and noting what was moving. In a composite image Ivezi\u0107 displayed during the briefing, the asteroids appeared as coloured streaks on a background of bright objects in deeper space. This gives us a better picture of our planetary neighbourhood and its inhabitants. \u201cThey were not a surprise,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have exquisite simulations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"js-content-prompt-opportunity\"\/><\/p>\n<p>During the course of its 10-year survey, the telescope is expected to detect about 5 million new asteroids, quintupling the number identified in previous centuries of searching.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"ArticleImage\">\n<div class=\"Image__Wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"Image lazyload\" alt=\"Video title: A swarm of new asteroids Caption: In about 10 hours of observations, NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory discovered 2,104 never-before-seen asteroids in our solar system, including seven near-Earth asteroids (which pose no danger). Annually, about 20,000 asteroids are discovered in total by all other ground and space-based observatories. Rubin Observatory alone will discover millions of new asteroids within the first two years of the Legacy Survey of Space and Time. Rubin will also be the most effective observatory at spotting interstellar objects passing through the solar system. Credit: NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory\" width=\"1350\" height=\"759\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 1288px) 837px, (min-width: 1024px) calc(57.5vw + 55px), (min-width: 415px) calc(100vw - 40px), calc(70vw + 74px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/23192527\/SEI_256573014.jpg?width=300 300w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/23192527\/SEI_256573014.jpg?width=400 400w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/23192527\/SEI_256573014.jpg?width=500 500w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/23192527\/SEI_256573014.jpg?width=600 600w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/23192527\/SEI_256573014.jpg?width=700 700w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/23192527\/SEI_256573014.jpg?width=800 800w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/23192527\/SEI_256573014.jpg?width=837 837w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/23192527\/SEI_256573014.jpg?width=900 900w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/23192527\/SEI_256573014.jpg?width=1003 1003w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/23192527\/SEI_256573014.jpg?width=1100 1100w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/23192527\/SEI_256573014.jpg?width=1200 1200w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/23192527\/SEI_256573014.jpg?width=1300 1300w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/23192527\/SEI_256573014.jpg?width=1400 1400w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/23192527\/SEI_256573014.jpg?width=1500 1500w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/23192527\/SEI_256573014.jpg?width=1600 1600w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/23192527\/SEI_256573014.jpg?width=1674 1674w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/23192527\/SEI_256573014.jpg?width=1700 1700w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/23192527\/SEI_256573014.jpg?width=1800 1800w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/23192527\/SEI_256573014.jpg?width=1900 1900w, https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/23192527\/SEI_256573014.jpg?width=2006 2006w\" src=\"https:\/\/images.newscientist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/23192527\/SEI_256573014.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" data-image-context=\"Article\" data-image-id=\"2485529\" data-caption=\"Asteroids are marked in coloured dots in front of an image of galaxies visible in the southern sky\" data-credit=\"NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory Copyright: NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"ArticleImageCaption\">\n<div class=\"ArticleImageCaption__CaptionWrapper\">\n<p class=\"ArticleImageCaption__Title\">Asteroids are marked in coloured dots in front of an image of galaxies visible in the southern sky<\/p>\n<p class=\"ArticleImageCaption__Credit\">NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory Copyright: NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<p>Any new detections will be reported on a daily basis to the Minor Planet Center in the US, which will analyse their orbital trajectories and identify any objects that could pose a threat to Earth. \u201cWithin 24 hours, everyone in the world will know that there is a particular object which could be hazardous,\u201d says Ivezi\u0107.<\/p>\n<p>Matthew Payne at the Minor Planet Center says only an estimated 40 per cent or so of the near-Earth objects large enough to pose a threat have been found. The radical increase in the number of detections from the\u00a0Vera\u00a0Rubin Observatory will help quickly find the rest of them, he says.<\/p>\n<p>The huge increase in observations of other objects in the solar system \u2013 from the main belt asteroids between Mars and Jupiter\u00a0to\u00a0objects further out beyond the orbit of Neptune \u2013 is also expected to give us new insight into our immediate\u00a0cosmic\u00a0neighborhood. \u201cIt will revolutionise, broadly, solar system science,\u201d says Payne.<\/p>\n<section class=\"ArticleTopics\" data-component-name=\"article-topics\">\n<p class=\"ArticleTopics__Heading\">Topics:<\/p>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/2485526-vera-rubin-observatory-has-already-found-thousands-of-new-asteroids\/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&#038;utm_source=NSNS&#038;utm_medium=RSS&#038;utm_content=space&#038;rand=772163\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Amid the millions of distant stars and galaxies captured in the first images released from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory are thousands of never-before-seen asteroids whizzing around the solar system.&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":796836,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-796835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-scientist"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/796835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=796835"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/796835\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/796836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=796835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=796835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=796835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}