Asteroids@home: Difference between revisions

Line 2:

= Why =

Big Bang! Everything explodes everywhere ~~while~~ gravity plays a critical role in the formation of structures in the universe. As matter clumps together under the influence of gravity, it leads to the formation of galaxies, stars, planets, and other celestial bodies.

Big Bang! Everything explodes everywhere and gravity plays a critical role in the formation of structures in the universe. As matter clumps together under the influence of gravity, it leads to the formation of galaxies, stars, planets, and other celestial bodies.

Within galaxies, planetary systems like our own ~~forms~~ as a result of the condensation of material within protoplanetary disks. These disks of gas and dust around young stars gradually form planets and other small objects like comets and asteroids. Since asteroids are remnants from the early solar system, studying them can provide insights into the processes that shaped our solar system's formation. They contain information about the building blocks of planets and can help us understand how planets like Earth formed and evolved.

Within galaxies, planetary systems like our own form as a result of the condensation of material within protoplanetary disks. These disks of gas and dust around young stars gradually form planets and other small objects like comets and asteroids.

Since asteroids are remnants from the early solar system, studying them can provide insights into the processes that shaped our solar system's formation. They contain information about the building blocks of planets and can help us understand how planets like Earth formed and evolved.

Asteroids are diverse and offer a wide range of scientific opportunities. By studying their compositions, surface properties, and geology, scientists can learn more about the history and evolution of these small celestial bodies, as well as the broader processes that have shaped our solar system.

Line 11:

Line 13:

= About =

[https://asteroidsathome.net/boinc/ Asteroids@home] is a volunteer distributed computing project that needs your help to derive the shape and spin for a significant part of the asteroid population. The BOINC application employs photometric measurements of asteroids from observed data. The results are asteroid convex shape models with the direction of the spin axis and the rotation period. The models are published in peer-reviewed journals and then made public in the [https://astro.troja.mff.cuni.cz/projects/asteroids3D DAMIT] database.

[https://asteroidsathome.net/boinc/ Asteroids@home] is a volunteer distributed computing project that needs your help to derive the shape and spin for a significant part of the asteroid population. The BOINC application employs photometric measurements of asteroids from observed data. The results are asteroid convex shape models with the direction of the spin axis and the rotation period. The models are published in peer-reviewed journals and then made public in the [https://astro.troja.mff.cuni.cz/projects/asteroids3D DAMIT] database. Database of Asteroid Models from Inversion Techniques (DAMIT) is providing the astronomical community access to reliable and up-to-date physical models of asteroids - i.e., their shapes, rotation periods, and spin axis directions.

With a huge amount of photometric data coming from big all-sky surveys as well as from backyard astronomers, ~~the lightcurve~~ inversion ~~becomes~~ a ~~computationally demanding process. In~~ the ~~future, we can expect even more data~~ from ~~surveys such as (PanSTARRS) and ([https://www.esa.int/export/esaSC/120377_index_0_m.html Gaia, LSST])~~. However, data from surveys are often ''sparse in time'', which means that the rotation period - the basic physical parameter - cannot be estimated from the data easily. Contrary to classical lightcurves where the period is "visible" in the data, a wide interval of all possible periods has to be scanned densely when analyzing sparse data. This fact enormously enlarges the computational time and the only practical way to efficiently handle photometry of hundreds of thousands of asteroids is to use distributed computing. Moreover, the problem is ideal for parallelization - the period interval can be divided into smaller parts that are searched separately and then the results are joined together.[https://asteroidsathome.net/]

With a huge amount of photometric data coming from big all-sky surveys as well as from backyard astronomers asteroid '''''Light curve inversion''''' modeling becomes viable, Light curve inversion is a mathematical technique used to model the surfaces of rotating objects from their brightness variations. However, data from surveys are often ''sparse in time'', which means that the rotation period - the basic physical parameter - cannot be estimated from the data easily. Contrary to classical lightcurves where the period is "visible" in the data, a wide interval of all possible periods has to be scanned densely when analyzing sparse data. This fact enormously enlarges the computational time and the only practical way to efficiently handle photometry of hundreds of thousands of asteroids is to use distributed computing. Moreover, the problem is ideal for parallelization - the period interval can be divided into smaller parts that are searched separately and then the results are joined together.[https://asteroidsathome.net/]

Asteroids@home is based at [https://astro.troja.mff.cuni.cz/index_en.html Astronomical Institute], [https://www.cuni.cz/UKENG-1.html Charles University in Prague] in cooperation with Radim Vančo from CzechNationalTeam. The project is directed by Josef Durech.

Line 21:

Line 23:

There are almost half a million known asteroids - we know their orbit in the solar system (by measuring their position at different times) and their approximate size (by measuring their brightness and knowing their distance). To learn more about their physical properties, other observing techniques have to be used. One of them is ''photometry'' - we measure brightness variations caused by rotation. By this technique, rotation periods were derived for several thousands of asteroids

~~= Asteroid lightcurves =~~

Similarly to planets, asteroids shine by the reflected sunglight. Because the distance of an asteroid to the Sun and the Earth changes as the asteroid and the Earth orbit the Sun, the brightness of the asteroid also changes with time. Apart from this easily predictable change of brightness, asteroids also exhibit brightness variations that are caused by their irregular shape and their rotation.

Asteroids rotate, the cross-section of the visible and illuminated part of their surface varies with time and so varies their brightness. This brightness variation is called a ''lightcurve''. By measuring lightcurves, we can measure asteroid rotation periods. The shape of a lightcurve depends on the mutual geometry of the Sun, the Earth, and the asteroid (which is known because we know the orbit of the asteroid in the solar system), and on asteroid spin axis orientation and shape (which we do not know).

~~= Lightcurve inversion =~~

If there are enough lightcurves from different geometries available, the shape model, the spin axis direction, and the rotation period of an asteroid can be derived. For example, an almost spherical asteroid would be constantly bright, whereas an elongated asteroid would exhibit large brightness variations when viewed edge-on and small variations when viewed pole-on. The process of the shape and spin reconstruction from lightcurves is called ''lightcurve inversion''. From a mathematical point of view, lightcurve inversion is a nice and interesting example of an ''inverse problem''. It can be shown that a unique ''convex shape model'' of an asteroid can be derived from its lightcurves. From an astronomical point of view, the lightcurve inversion method enables us to reveal basics physical characteristics of individual asteroids by inverting their lightcurves. So far, models for more than 200 asteroids have been derived this way. They are stored in the Database of Asteroid Models from Inversion Techniques (DAMIT).[https://asteroidsathome.net/basics_asteroids.html]

= Scientific publications =

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 = Why =
-Big Bang! Everything explodes everywhere while gravity plays a critical role in the formation of structures in the universe. As matter clumps together under the influence of gravity, it leads to the formation of galaxies, stars, planets, and other celestial bodies.
+Big Bang! Everything explodes everywhere and gravity plays a critical role in the formation of structures in the universe. As matter clumps together under the influence of gravity, it leads to the formation of galaxies, stars, planets, and other celestial bodies.
-Within galaxies, planetary systems like our own forms as a result of the condensation of material within protoplanetary disks. These disks of gas and dust around young stars gradually form planets and other small objects like comets and asteroids. Since asteroids are remnants from the early solar system, studying them can provide insights into the processes that shaped our solar system's formation. They contain information about the building blocks of planets and can help us understand how planets like Earth formed and evolved.
+Within galaxies, planetary systems like our own form as a result of the condensation of material within protoplanetary disks. These disks of gas and dust around young stars gradually form planets and other small objects like comets and asteroids.
+Since asteroids are remnants from the early solar system, studying them can provide insights into the processes that shaped our solar system's formation. They contain information about the building blocks of planets and can help us understand how planets like Earth formed and evolved.
 Asteroids are diverse and offer a wide range of scientific opportunities. By studying their compositions, surface properties, and geology, scientists can learn more about the history and evolution of these small celestial bodies, as well as the broader processes that have shaped our solar system.
@@ Line 11: / Line 13: @@
 = About =
-[https://asteroidsathome.net/boinc/ Asteroids@home] is a volunteer distributed computing project that needs your help to derive the shape and spin for a significant part of the asteroid population. The BOINC application employs photometric measurements of asteroids from observed data. The results are asteroid convex shape models with the direction of the spin axis and the rotation period. The models are published in peer-reviewed journals and then made public in the [https://astro.troja.mff.cuni.cz/projects/asteroids3D DAMIT] database.
+[https://asteroidsathome.net/boinc/ Asteroids@home] is a volunteer distributed computing project that needs your help to derive the shape and spin for a significant part of the asteroid population. The BOINC application employs photometric measurements of asteroids from observed data. The results are asteroid convex shape models with the direction of the spin axis and the rotation period. The models are published in peer-reviewed journals and then made public in the [https://astro.troja.mff.cuni.cz/projects/asteroids3D DAMIT] database. Database of Asteroid Models from Inversion Techniques (DAMIT) is providing the astronomical community access to reliable and up-to-date physical models of asteroids - i.e., their shapes, rotation periods, and spin axis directions.
-With a huge amount of photometric data coming from big all-sky surveys as well as from backyard astronomers, the lightcurve inversion becomes a computationally demanding process. In the future, we can expect even more data from surveys such as (PanSTARRS) and ([https://www.esa.int/export/esaSC/120377_index_0_m.html Gaia, LSST]). However, data from surveys are often ''sparse in time'', which means that the rotation period - the basic physical parameter - cannot be estimated from the data easily. Contrary to classical lightcurves where the period is "visible" in the data, a wide interval of all possible periods has to be scanned densely when analyzing sparse data. This fact enormously enlarges the computational time and the only practical way to efficiently handle photometry of hundreds of thousands of asteroids is to use distributed computing. Moreover, the problem is ideal for parallelization - the period interval can be divided into smaller parts that are searched separately and then the results are joined together.[https://asteroidsathome.net/]
+With a huge amount of photometric data coming from big all-sky surveys as well as from backyard astronomers asteroid '''''Light curve inversion''''' modeling becomes viable, Light curve inversion is a mathematical technique used to model the surfaces of rotating objects from their brightness variations. However, data from surveys are often ''sparse in time'', which means that the rotation period - the basic physical parameter - cannot be estimated from the data easily. Contrary to classical lightcurves where the period is "visible" in the data, a wide interval of all possible periods has to be scanned densely when analyzing sparse data. This fact enormously enlarges the computational time and the only practical way to efficiently handle photometry of hundreds of thousands of asteroids is to use distributed computing. Moreover, the problem is ideal for parallelization - the period interval can be divided into smaller parts that are searched separately and then the results are joined together.[https://asteroidsathome.net/]
 Asteroids@home is based at [https://astro.troja.mff.cuni.cz/index_en.html Astronomical Institute], [https://www.cuni.cz/UKENG-1.html Charles University in Prague] in cooperation with Radim Vančo from CzechNationalTeam. The project is directed by Josef Durech.
@@ Line 21: / Line 23: @@
 There are almost half a million known asteroids - we know their orbit in the solar system (by measuring their position at different times) and their approximate size (by measuring their brightness and knowing their distance). To learn more about their physical properties, other observing techniques have to be used. One of them is ''photometry'' - we measure brightness variations caused by rotation. By this technique, rotation periods were derived for several thousands of asteroids
-= Asteroid lightcurves =
-Similarly to planets, asteroids shine by the reflected sunglight. Because the distance of an asteroid to the Sun and the Earth changes as the asteroid and the Earth orbit the Sun, the brightness of the asteroid also changes with time. Apart from this easily predictable change of brightness, asteroids also exhibit brightness variations that are caused by their irregular shape and their rotation.
-Asteroids rotate, the cross-section of the visible and illuminated part of their surface varies with time and so varies their brightness. This brightness variation is called a ''lightcurve''. By measuring lightcurves, we can measure asteroid rotation periods. The shape of a lightcurve depends on the mutual geometry of the Sun, the Earth, and the asteroid (which is known because we know the orbit of the asteroid in the solar system), and on asteroid spin axis orientation and shape (which we do not know).
-= Lightcurve inversion =
-If there are enough lightcurves from different geometries available, the shape model, the spin axis direction, and the rotation period of an asteroid can be derived. For example, an almost spherical asteroid would be constantly bright, whereas an elongated asteroid would exhibit large brightness variations when viewed edge-on and small variations when viewed pole-on. The process of the shape and spin reconstruction from lightcurves is called ''lightcurve inversion''. From a mathematical point of view, lightcurve inversion is a nice and interesting example of an ''inverse problem''. It can be shown that a unique ''convex shape model'' of an asteroid can be derived from its lightcurves. From an astronomical point of view, the lightcurve inversion method enables us to reveal basics physical characteristics of individual asteroids by inverting their lightcurves. So far, models for more than 200 asteroids have been derived this way. They are stored in the Database of Asteroid Models from Inversion Techniques (DAMIT).[https://asteroidsathome.net/basics_asteroids.html]
 = Scientific publications =