MIT scientists have made a groundbreaking discovery using data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, detecting 138 small asteroids in the main asteroid belt. This breakthrough opens up new possibilities for asteroid research and has significant implications for understanding the origin of meteorites and near-Earth object risks.
MIT astronomers, led by Julien de Wit and Artem Burdanov, have made a groundbreaking discovery using data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). They detected 138 small asteroids in the main asteroid belt, with sizes ranging from tens of meters to stadium-sized.
Asteroids are often seen as “vermin” by astronomers, crossing their field of view and affecting their data. However, de Wit and Burdanov wondered if they could use image processing techniques to recycle data from exoplanet searches for asteroids in our solar system. They applied the “shift and stack” method, which involves shifting multiple images of the same field of view and stacking them to see if a faint object can outshine noise.
Using JWST’s infrared capabilities, which are particularly sensitive to asteroids in the main belt, the team applied their approach to images of TRAPPIST-1. They processed over 10,000 images and detected eight known asteroids in the main belt. Further analysis revealed 138 new asteroids around the main belt, all within tens of meters in diameter.
This discovery opens up a “totally new, unexplored space” for asteroid research. The team suspects that some of these small asteroids are on their way to becoming near-Earth objects, while one is likely a Trojan – an asteroid that trails Jupiter.
The work was supported by the Heising-Simons Foundation, the Czech Science Foundation, and the NVIDIA Academic Hardware Grant Program. The research involved collaboration with multiple institutions, including the University of Liege in Belgium, Charles University in the Czech Republic, and the European Space Agency.
Statistics of these decameter main belt asteroids are critical for modeling. Miroslav Broz, co-author from Prague Charles University, notes that this is a new population regime where many more small objects are formed through cascades of collisions that break down asteroids below roughly 100 meters.
This breakthrough in asteroid detection using JWST demonstrates the power of modern technologies and innovative approaches to exploring our solar system. The team’s discovery has significant implications for understanding the origin of meteorites and the potential risks associated with small asteroids becoming near-Earth objects.
