Spot what moves among the stars.
AsteroidHunter helps students and volunteers analyze images from the Pan-STARRS telescope, mark candidate asteroids, and generate reports for the Minor Planet Center, as part of the IASC citizen-science campaigns.
What the IASC is
The IASC (International Astronomical Search Collaboration) is a NASA citizen-science program. It hands real images from the Pan-STARRS telescope to schools, universities and volunteer groups around the world, who scan the sky for asteroids that have not been cataloged yet.
Detections are sent to the Minor Planet Center. Once confirmed, they receive a provisional designation and may, over the years, become numbered asteroids that the discoverers themselves have the right to name.
AsteroidHunter is here to make that analysis lighter. It takes on the heavier technical part, like aligning the images, the astrometry, the photometry and preparing the report, so you can enjoy the best of the hunt: looking for the object and finding it.
The images arrive
Each campaign, sets of exposures of the same patch of sky are made available to participants.
You analyze
By comparing the images, you look for the dot that moved from one exposure to the next, a possible asteroid.
You report
The position and brightness measurements are sent to the Minor Planet Center.
Science happens
Once confirmed, the detection enters the catalogs and starts contributing to mapping the Solar System.
How to use
From loading the images to the final report, step by step.
1. Import the images
Select the four FITS images of the same field. The app takes care of aligning and preparing everything for the comparison, with no setup on your part.
2. Compare the images (blink)
Use the blink controls to flip between the four images. The stars stay put; the asteroid is the dot that changes position on each switch.
3. Choose the overlaid catalogs
Turn each catalog on or off (Gaia, Pan-STARRS, USNO-B, SDSS and others) over the image to see which dots are already cataloged sources.
4. See the known objects
Enable the cataloged-asteroids layer and the app shows which known objects are in the field on each image. Open the list to see each one’s code and position.
5. Mark the candidate
Click the moving object and the app adjusts the center of the mark for you.
6. Generate the report
Review your candidates and export the report, ready to submit to the campaign.
Download AsteroidHunter
Version 0.1.0Free. Pick the installer for your system.
Antivirus blocking the download? Because AsteroidHunter does not yet have a code-signing certificate, some antivirus tools (Windows Defender, Avast, etc.) may flag or block the file. The app is safe. To install: on Windows, click "More info" → "Run anyway"; on other antivirus tools, mark the file as trusted or add an exception.
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Get in touch
Questions, suggestions, or want to use it with your class or group? We are here.