The Daily Minor Planet
Type of site | Citizen science Project |
|---|---|
| Available in | English, German, French, Russian, Turkish, Japanese, Italian, Hindi, and Arabic |
| Created by | David Carson Fuls; D. C. Fuls, et al.[1] |
| URL | https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/fulsdavid/the-daily-minor-planet/about/research |
| Commercial | No |
| Registration | Yes, not mandatory |
| Current status | Ongoing |
The Daily Minor Planet is a citizen science project run by the Zooniverse and The Catalina Sky Survey with a funding grant from NASA, to use citizen science volunteer classifications to discover asteroids with recent data from the G96 Mount Lemmon Survey 1.52 m (60 in) cassegrain reflector telescope.[2][3][4][5] The main objective of the project is to search for undiscovered asteroids in order to protect the planet by locating potentially harmful Near-Earth asteroids.[6][7][8][9]
The main-belt asteroid 227711 Dailyminorplanet was named in honor of thousands of volunteers who have participated in this project.[10][11]
The Daily Minor Planet Zooniverse project now has two workflows of data for volunteers to analyze with the inclusion of images taken by the 2.3-meter Bok Telescope (V00) at Kitt Peak National Observatory as of March 2026.[12]
List of Notable Discoveries
| Asteroid Designation | Orbit or Family | Semi- major axis (AU) | Eccentricity of orbit | Diameter (m) | Discovery date | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 VN3 | Apollo | 1.2166279 | 0.2142180 | 26.17 | 2023-11-05 | MPC · JPL |
| 2023 TW | Aten | 0.8458886 | 0.2912585 | 9.30 | 2023-10-04 | MPC · JPL |
| 2024 SN3 | Aten | 0.9150081 | 0.1096303 | 11.02 | 2024-09-22 | MPC · JPL |
| 2025 HD3 | Aten | 0.8316599 | 0.4446249 | 23.78 | 2025-04-24 | MPC · JPL |
| 2025 KU1 | Apollo | 1.0738396 | 0.0810991 | 15.10 | 2025-05-22 | MPC · JPL |
| 2026 KS3 | Amor | 1.6766994 | 0.3666147 | 62.51 | 2026-05-23 | MPC · JPL |
See also
References
- ↑ "The Daily Minor Planet: About Research". zooniverse.org. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
- ↑ Voices, Earthsky (19 May 2023). "Help spot asteroids! The Daily Minor Planet needs you". earthsky.org. Earth & Sky. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
- ↑ "Join the Hunt: Astronomers Need Help Finding Asteroids Hurtling Through Our Solar System". scitechdaily.com. 2023-05-20. Retrieved 2025-05-12.
- ↑ Trembley, Robert (18 May 2023). "The Daily Minor Planet – Discover New Asteroids Every Day!". vaticanobservatory.org. Vatican Observatory. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
- ↑ Tate, Jay (1 November 2023). "Daily Minor Planet volunteers spot an asteroid passing close to Earth". spaceguardcentre.com. The Spaceguard Centre. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
- ↑ "Citizen Science Project Nets a New Asteroid, and It's a Close One". lpl.arizona.edu. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
- ↑ "The Daily Minor Planet: About Research".
- ↑ Boyle, Alan (16 May 2023). "Astronomers Want Your Help to Identify Risky Asteroids". universetoday.com. Universe Today. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
- ↑ Perkins, Tony (1 January 2024). "Asteroid hunters welcome Arizona citizen scientists to scan the sky". azpm.org. AZPM News. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
- ↑ "WGSBN Bull. 5, #7, 7". wgsbn-iau.org. International Astronomical Union. 28 April 2025. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
- ↑ "(227711) Dailyminorplanet = 1998 TK28 = 2006 DP114". minorplanetcenter.net. International Astronomical Union Minor Planet Center. 28 April 2025. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
- ↑ Science Editorial Team, NASA (13 March 2026). "Extra Extra! Extra Data Stream Added to the Daily Minor Planet!". science.nasa.gov. NASA. Retrieved 31 May 2026.