WISE Discovers and Asteroid
Department:
Astrotech
Teaser:
NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), has spotted its first never-before-seen near-Earth asteroid. This is the first of the hundreds that it is expected to find.
Source:
News and Features - NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory Download time: Jan 23 2010 7:57 AM ET
NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, has spotted its first never-before-seen near-Earth asteroid, the first of hundreds it is expected to find during its mission to map the whole sky in infrared light.
The near-Earth object, designated 2010 AB78, was discovered by WISE Jan. 12. After the mission's sophisticated software picked out the moving object against a background of stationary stars, researchers followed up and confirmed the discovery with the University of Hawaii's 2.2-meter (88-inch) visible-light telescope near the summit of Mauna Kea.…
Also see the story in the Planetary Society Blog.
