The possibility of an impact from a planet-killing asteroid or comet is an oft discussed topic in science and science fiction, and has even made its way onto this blog a time or two. Ultimately the discussion turns to what the world would do if just such an object was found to be hurtling toward Earth. The answer, inevitably, relies on our ability to find potential threats years in advance.
Why no specific system is in place to save us from such a catastrophe (though some are, supposedly, in the works), the general rule is that the more time we have to get our act together the better. That is why a group of scientists, lead by John Tonry and Robert Jedicke of the Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawaii, are devising a cost effective means of finding these monsters before times become dire.
The ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) is a proposed system of two observatories, roughly 60 miles apart, that would be able to scan their entire field of view twice per night. Each observatory would consist of four small telescopes. And these are not some proprietary technology, super duper scores either. These are instruments available to you and me on the commercial market.
Used in an array of low-cost, but highly effective CCD cameras, the telescopes, along with high speed computers, can get very precise measurements of threatening objects more than 2 million miles from Earth. But, with a proposed plan to further expand to eight observatories, ATLAS could prove to be even more effective and cover a greater amount of the sky each night.
The beauty of this design is that the plan is relatively inexpensive (about $1 million per observatory) and uses technology currently available on the market. And the concept is already battle tested as ad hoc set-ups have found such objects in recent years, even though it wasn't necessarily their intention. All that is needed now is for more institutions to join the effort. And eventually well founded amateur astronomy groups could join in the fun.
In an age of billion dollar instruments and budget shortfalls, it is nice to see scientists thinking outside the box to create an effective tool at a low cost.
Mosaic of Asteroid Gaspra taken by the Galileo spacecraft in 1991. Image Credit: NASA
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