International Astronomical Search Collaboration Online Student-Based Discovery Programs Dr. J. Patrick Miller Department of Mathematics & Astronomy Hardin-Simmons University Abilene, Texas January 16, 2010 EuROPA (Educational Reach-Out Programs in Astronomy)

International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC = “Isaac”) …online student-based discovery program in astronomy High school and college students make original discoveries & observations: Main Belt asteroids Near-Earth objects (NEOs) Collaborators include: Hardin-Simmons University (Abilene, Texas) Astronomical Research Institute (Westfield, Illinois) Lawrence Hall of Science (University of California, Berkeley) Global Hands-On Universe Association (Lisbon, Portugal) Sierra Stars Observatory Network (Markleeville, CA) Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (Space Sciences Laboratory) Astrometrica (Linz, Austria)

Austria1 Brazil3 Bulgaria3 China15 Ethiopia7 England2 Germany3 Ghana1 India30 Ireland1 Italy1 Japan8 Kenya2 Nigeria5 Poland12 Portugal14 Puerto Rico1 Russia2 South Africa11 Switzerland1 United States Schools, 21 Countries, & 4 Continents Country# of Schools

PortugalPoland California Japan Virginia We discovered asteroid!

IASC asteroid search campaigns are organized into 45-day time periods, originally scheduled for U.S. schools and based upon standard holiday and testing schedules from August-May. Now, the campaigns run year-round: Asteroid Search Campaigns Asteroid Search Campaigns 2 NEO Confirmation Campaigns Asteroid Search Campaigns 2NEO Confirmation Campaigns Asteroid Search Campaigns 3NEO Confirmation Campaigns Organization of IASC Asteroid Search Campaigns IASC is provided at no cost to the participating schools.

Specialized IASC Asteroid Search Campaigns All-Texas Asteroid Search Campaign (University of Texas at Austin) All-China Asteroid Search Campaign (National Astronomical Observatory of China) All-Africa Asteroid Search Campaign (South African Astronomical Observatory) (National Youth Development Council) (Global Hands-On Universe Association) Ethiopia Nigeria South Africa Ghana Kenya All-Portugal Asteroid Search Campaign (N u cleo Interactivo de Astronomia) All-India Asteroid Search Campaign (S.P.A.C.E.)

NASA WISE Asteroid Search Campaign (Space Sciences Laboratory) (Lawrence Hall of Science) February 1 – March 17, 2010 March 22 – May 7, 2010 August 23 – October 8, 2010

IASC Program Flow Diagram Astronomical Research Institute Hardin-Simmons University Astrometrica Sierra Stars Observatory HSU & Astrometrica Minor Planet Center (Harvard)

Using Astrometrica, the students run the “moving object utility” followed by a deep search into the images with the “blink utility”.

Discovery of 2009 CV54 by a student at the Center for Theoretical Physics (Poland)

Asteroid discovery by Ranger High School (TX) during Region 14 workshop Asteroid discovery by Loraine High School (TX) during Region 14 workshop 2007 BG BX72

Since October 2006, students have: Discovered 190 Main Belt asteroids Made >1,500 NEO observations Made ~200 NEO confirmations Made ~50 virtual impactor observations IASC targets 1 MBA discovery for every other school.

Main Belt Asteroid Discoveries ObjectStudentsSchoolLocationDate 2009 XD2Wang, Wang, & ZhangBeijing No. 35 Middle SchoolChina12/11/ XP6Yang, Fang, & ZhouZhejiang Normal UniversityChina12/12/ XQ6Yang, Fang, & ZhouZhejiang Normal UniversityChina12/12/09 NEO Confirmations ObjectStudentsSchoolLocationDate 2009 XQ1Wang, Wang, & ZhangBeijing No. 35 Middle SchoolChina12/11/ XZ1Li, Li, & WangZhongguancun Middle SchoolChina12/12/ XA2Yang, Fang, & ZhouZhejiang Normal UniversityChina12/12/09 NEO Observations ObjectStudentsSchoolLocationDate 2009 SD229Wang, Zhang, & SongBeijing No. 35 Middle SchoolChina12/11/ UZ17Wang,Li, Z.WangBeijing No. 35 Middle SchoolChina12/11/ XOWang, Yin, & ZhangBeijing No. 35 Middle SchoolChina12/11/ SL104Shan, Geng, & Wang Beida Resource Middle SchoolChina12/11/ WR6Butchart, Crandell, & DavisOil City High SchoolPA12/11/ RD1He & GaoBeijing 101 High SchoolChina12/12/ VN1He & GaoBeijing 101 High SchoolChina12/12/ TB18Jiang, Liu, & ZhouBeijing Normal UniversityChina12/12/ WNZhang, Yin, & ZhouBeijing Normal UniversityChina12/12/ SV171Furtado & TeixeiraEscola Básica 2,3 Matilde Rosa Araújo Portugal12/12/ WY2Manghnani & RodriguesEscola Secundária 2,3 de Alvide Portugal12/12/ XJ3Moreno, Fontes, & MascarenhasEscola Secundária e B3 Fernão de MagalhãesPortugal12/12/ WW25 L. PessoaColégio da Bafureira Portugal12/12/09 Discoveries & Observations… current campaigns that started December 11 th

On January 31, 2009, a potentially hazardous asteroid (PHA) 2009 BD81 was discovered at ARI Observatory by Observer R. Holmes, measurers S. Kirby, K. Dankov, and H. Devore. It was published in MPEC 2009-C09 on February 2, Steven Kirby is a high school science teacher at Ranger High School (Ranger, TX). He was attending an IASC workshop at the Big Country Science & Mathematics Symposium (Region 14; Abilene, TX). Observer details: H01 Magdalena Ridge Observatory, Socorro. Observers W. H. Ryan, E. V. Ryan. Measurer W. H. Ryan. 2.4-m f/8.9 reflector + CCD. H36 Sandlot Observatory, Scranton. Observer G. Hug m reflector + CCD. H55 Astronomical Research Observatory, Charleston. Observer R. Holmes. Measurers S. Kirby, K. Dankov, H. Devore m f/4.0 astrograph + CCD. H85 Silver Spring. Observer K. Levin. Measurer N. Teamo m f/7.25 Ritchey-Chretien x2054 CCD.

Current IASC Capacity IASC has an image pipeline with 2 channels (24” and 32” telescopes at the ARI Observatory) Using 45-day campaigns, a total of 8 can be offered per year per channel (i.e., 16 search campaigns per year) Each campaign can serve 15 schools Academic Year# of Campaigns% of Capacity# of Schools % % % % 135

Future Plans for IASC New collaboration partners… Pan-STARRS (University of Hawaii) Chinese Academy of Science (Beijing) Las Cumbras Observatory Global Telescopes New search campaigns… Supernovae Kuiper Belt Objects Comets Exoplanets

2-m Faulkes Telescope North Maui NASA WISE NEO Confirmation Campaign (Space Sciences Laboratory) (Lawrence Hall of Science) March 15 – May 30, NASA WISE schools will be paired with 5 schools from the United Kingdom. Using the 2-m Faulkes telescopes, follow-up images will be taken of near-Earth objects (NEO) discovered by WISE the night before. These observations are called “NEO Confirmations” and are published by the Minor Planet Center (Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory).

Searches for Supernovae (SNe) and Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) Anonymous galaxy in the cluster Abell 1066 January 26, 2006 Anonymous galaxy in the cluster Abell 1066 February 29, 2006 SN 2006 al Holmes & Devore

Searches for Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) KBO Varuna January 11, 2007 Varuna

Searches for Comets Comet September 17, 2006

EuROPA International Astronomical Search Collaboration Department of Mathematics & Astronomy Holland School of Science & Mathematics Hardin-Simmons University Abilene, Texas