This past October, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory announced a new dwarf planet candidate orbiting beyond Pluto, named 2026 ED138. If it’s confirmed, it would be the first addition to the solar system’s official list of dwarf planets since 2008. It was a proud moment...
For Aidan Berres, an interest in astronomy began with a fascination with the data that can reveal what is happening across the sky. At the Asteroid Institute, that curiosity grew into hands-on research experience that helped shape his path towards graduate school. Today, Aidan is...
The Asteroid Institute has upgraded Precovery, the Asteroid Discovery Analysis and Mapping (ADAM) platform service that searches astronomical archives for detections that have not yet been linked to an asteroid—before or after its discovery. It now runs far faster, returns more complete search results, and...
The Asteroid Institute, a program of B612 Foundation, has launched ADAM::Ephemeris, a hosted service for computing predicted positions of asteroids, comets, and other small bodies. The service runs on Google Cloud, is built on the open-source `adam-core` library, and is available now through both the...
On February 15, 2013, a flash lit up the winter sky over Chelyabinsk, Russia. Thirteen years later, the lessons of that event continue to shape how the world approaches asteroid risk—and why sustained education and innovation in planetary defense remain essential. That morning, a small asteroid...
Asteroids streak across this Rubin Observatory image of the Virgo Cluster, visible as tri-colored trails created by their motion across repeated exposures. Credit: RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/NSF/DOE/AURA Several current and former members of the Asteroid Institute team contributed to research published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters examining early...
As 2025 comes to a close, the Asteroid Institute hosted a public progress briefing to highlight this year’s major milestones, showcasing our team’s achievements in advancing asteroid research tools, public engagement, and planetary defense initiatives. Former NASA astronaut Dr. Ed Lu, B612 President Danica Remy, and...
Thanks to the generosity of our donors and the dedication of our team, 2025 marked a year of continued progress for B612 and our Asteroid Institute in developing tools and technologies to understand, map, and navigate our solar system and protect our planet from asteroid...
The Asteroid Institute has officially launched the Asteroid Discovery Analysis and Mapping (ADAM) Online Platform to the general public, opening up a powerful suite of astrodynamics tools to researchers, mission planners, and others. For the first time, users can access services such as Precovery, Impact...
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – July 22, 2025 /PRnewswire/ – The Asteroid Institute, a program of B612 Foundation, today announced the launch of ADAM::Trajectory. This new service, running on Google Cloud, allows users to calculate trajectories and propulsion requirements between any two objects in the solar...