Aug. 31, 2009 -- NASA is preparing to launch an infrared telescope named WISE that could indeed live up to its name. Among its targets: dark asteroids that have slipped beneath the radar of an ongoing project to map objects larger than 1 kilometer that orbit near Earth. Hunting asteroids wasn't in the original plan for the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, known by the acronym WISE, which arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California this month for launch preparations. "I was recruited when the team realized they would be seeing a lot of asteroids, some of which may be new," said University of Arizona astronomer Robert McMillan who leads Spacewatch, an asteroid-survey project. "They wanted someone who had connections with the ground-based telescope community who'd be able to do follow-ups," McMillan told Discovery News. With a quartet of infrared sensors and a wide view, WISE is designed to survey the whole sky in infrared light. It's not the first telescope to do so, but scientists expect WISE's observations will be 500 times sharper than a survey conducted in 1980s by IRAS, the Infrared Astronomical Satellite, said astronomer Martin Cohen, with the University of California at Berkeley. The data will be complied into an all-sky infrared atlas, a tome that is expected to include about 300 million objects, including about 100,000 asteroids. Many of the asteroids seen by WISE will be known objects. Scientists hope to use the new observations to nail down details, such as an asteroid's diameter and surface reflectivity. Related Content:
"With ground-based scopes, it's just a point source. You can't tell size directly," McMillan said. "A big object that is dark and a small object that is bright are going to look like they have the same brightness." The solar system contains several million asteroids, most of which reside in the Main Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter. About 7,000 asteroids have been identified that cross or come close to Earth's orbit. WISE will be able to spot asteroids emitting heat due to direct exposure from the sun, as opposed to visible-light searches that find asteroids that are reflecting sunlight. "Those are two different physical effects," said McMillan. "An asteroid that has very dark color in invisible light is going to get heated up more, just like a black car in a parking lot is going to get heated up more than a white car." Get More NewsSpiders, Scorpions Among World's Oldest CreaturesMany creepy crawlies have been on Earth much longer than previously believed.Blood-Sucking Vampire Bats Sing DuetsWhite-winged vampire bats "harmonize" with separated roost mates.Oldest Hebrew Writing Possibly FoundAncient inscriptions on a 3,000-year-old pottery shard could make history.Rare, Prehistoric-Age Reptile Found in N.Z.A tuatara has been spotted on the New Zealand mainland for the first time in 200 years.Iceman Has No Living RelativesOetzi, the 5,300 year-old frozen mummy, left no living genetic legacy.SLIDE SHOW: Landscapes of TerrorWhat makes a place feel scary? There are scientific explanations.It's Official: People Are Warming the PolesHumans are conclusively to blame for polar warming, say scientists.Eight-Armed Animal Preceded DinosaursWhat may be one of Earth's first animals was no bigger than a coaster and had eight arms.Phoenicians Live on in People's GenesOne in 17 Mediterranean men may be descended from ancient Phoenicians.Pesticides, Fertilizers Linked to Frog DeclineA pesticide is found to promote parasites among amphibians.Hubble Telescope Taking Photos AgainThe Hubble Space Telescope is once again snapping stunning photos of the universe.Andean Mummy Hairs Show Hallucinogen UseScientists find direct evidence of hallucinogenic drug use among ancient Andeans.Opals on Mars Reveal Planet's Long Wet PastOpals found on Mars suggest the planet has been wet for much longer. |
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