International Astronomical Search Collaboration: Asteroid Discoveries by High School & College Students

Asteroids are millions upon millions of boulders of rock that reside primarily between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. They vary in size from small pebbles to boulders miles across. Over the past 4.5 billion years, tens of thousands have crossed Earth's orbit...earning the name of near- Earth objects (NEO). The large NEOs pose an impact hazard. In fact, Earth's atmosphere is hit every day by this rocky material, but most of them are small and burn up in the atmosphere. Every few million years, an NEO 3-5 miles in diameter hits Earth. This is large enough to extinguish life. The last time this happened was ~65 million years ago in the Gulf of Mexico near Chicxulub. That impact created a crater more than 100 miles in diameter and is believed to have contributed to the extinction of the dinosaurs and 50% of all other life on Earth.

The NASA Near-Earth Program is located at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Pasadena, CA). Its purpose is to identify the Earth-threatening NEOs. The International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC = 'Isaac') is an online education program in which high school and college students make original discoveries of NEOs and Main Belt Asteroids (MBAs). Come to hear more about asteroids, Earth-threatening boulders, and IASC.

Speaker: Dr. J. Patrick Miller is a professor of mathematics at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, TX and Director of the International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC). He also teaches introductory astronomy and astronomical research methods at the University. He is the founder of IASC in October 2006, and serves as the Vice-President of the Permanent Council of the Global Hands-On Universe Association. Dr. Miller is currently a Guest Researcher at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.