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Open-Source Software for Asteroid Orbit Analysis

At the Spring 2025 Asteroid Institute Hackathon in Seattle, researcher Dr. Joachim Moeyens and Head of Software Engineering Alec Koumjian presented our suite of open-source tools to the LSST Interdisciplinary Network for Collaboration and Computing (LINCC). These tools are designed to help researchers, students, and...

Asteroid Institute | Spring 2025 Hackathon Brings our Team and DiRAC together

The Asteroid Institute team outside the University of Washington Physics and Astronomy Building. From left to right: Delphine Veronese-Milin, Alec Koumjian, Joachim Moeyens, Ed Lu, Danica Remy, Nate Tellis, Kathleen Kiker, Colleen Fiaschetti Earlier this month, our Asteroid Institute team gathered at the University of Washington...

Delphine Veronese-Milin Finds Her Orbit at B612

After completing an internship at NASA Ames and earning a bachelor’s degree in astrophysics from UC Berkeley, Delphine Veronese-Milin knew she wanted to take a break from academics to gain real-world experience. With the pandemic in full swing, she never could have predicted she’d go...

Asteroid Institute Analyzes 2024 YR4 Impact Risk

As of Feb 25, 2025, Asteroid 2024 YR4 is no longer poses a significant risk of hitting the Earth. Visit the NASA Small Body Database for the most up to date information on this asteroid. The engineering team at Asteroid Institute has been busy since early...

A Stark Reminder: The Chelyabinsk Anniversary and Asteroid 2024 YR4

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCEC4EaY00Q&t[/embedyt]   Twelve years ago, on February 15, 2013, the world received an undeniable wake-up call about the dangers posed by near-Earth asteroids. Without warning, a 18-meter asteroid streaked across the sky before exploding over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk. The resulting shockwave damaged over 7,200...

Asteroid Institute Engineers present at 2024 ADASS Conference

Asteroid Institute engineers presented online at this year’s Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems (ADASS) conference, held in November. The ADASS conference serves as a premier forum for exchanging ideas on software development and data analysis within the astronomical community. The institute’s Head of Software Engineering,...

Engineering Progress at the Asteroid Institute: Enhancing Asteroid Discovery

[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text css=""] Our engineering team has made significant strides in advancing the tools and technology that power the Asteroid Discovery Analysis and Mapping (ADAM) platform. Over the past year, we’ve focused on refining the core infrastructure and open-source libraries,...

B612 Cofounder Dr. Ed Lu Inducted into the IAF Hall of Fame

Credit: Christopher Michael Today, our cofounder Dr. Ed Lu was inducted into the prestigious International Astronautical Federation (IAF) Hall of Fame. This honor places him among a distinguished group of individuals and organizations, including Elon Musk, the Apollo 11 crew, and the James Webb Space Telescope...

B612 cofounder and Apollo 9 Astronaut Rusty Schweickart receives 2024 Legendary Explorer Award

[caption id="attachment_30228" align="alignnone" width="800"] The 2024 Explorer’s Club awardees. Pictured from left to right: Rita Cowell, Rusty Schweickart, Nico Vincent, John Shears, Callie Veelenturf (front), Frank Culbertson (back), Lynn Danaher, Dante Lauretta, Daniel S. Goldin. Credit: Felix Kunze[/caption]   Today, The Explorers Club honored Apollo 9 astronaut...

Chelyabinsk and the Changing Landscape of Planetary Defense

It has now been over a decade since the Chelyabinsk event. Like last year and the year before that, February 15th is marked within our organization, and many witnessed its aftermath as the day humanity woke up to the threat of asteroids. While NASA, B612,...