NEOWISE is a asteroid-seeking spacecraft managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The data NEOWISE has gathered includes millions of infrared images and billions of infrared measurements of asteroids, stars, galaxies and quasars, according to joint press releases from NASA Headquarters and JPL.
"One of the most satisfying things about releasing these cutting-edge astronomical data to the public is seeing what other exciting and creative projects the scientific community does with them," said Amy Mainzer, principal investigator for NEOWISE at (JPL), in Pasadena, Calif., according to the press releases.
In its first year back on the job, NEOWISE collected 2.5 million images sets on more than 10,000 solar system objects - including 90 new solar system objects and 39 previously undiscovered near-Earth objects. More than 10 billion measurements were taken of the distant stars, nebulae and galaxies in the backgrounds of the images.
"And we're far from finished," said Mainzer, according to the press release. "We're only into our second year of additional science collection, and we've already added another 21 new discoveries including six new near-Earth objects."
From NASA:
"NEOWISE is a space telescope that scans the skies for asteroids and comets. The telescope sees infrared light, which allows it to pick up the heat signature of asteroids and obtain better estimates of their true sizes. As a result, NEOWISE can see dark asteroids that are harder for visible-light surveys to find. Nearly all of the NEOWISE discoveries have been large - hundreds of yards, or meters, wide - and very dark, similar to printer toner. When NEOWISE's infrared data on an object is combined with that of a visible-light optical telescope, it helps scientists understand the object's composition.
"NEOWISE always looks in the dawn and twilight skies - the direction perpendicular to a line between Earth and the sun. This unique vantage point makes it possible for NEOWISE to spot objects that approach Earth from the direction of the sun, unlike ground-based telescopes that are only able to view the night sky.
"Originally called the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), the spacecraft was placed in hibernation in 2011 after its primary mission was completed. In September 2013, it was reactivated, renamed NEOWISE and assigned a new mission to assist NASA's efforts to identify the population of potentially hazardous near-Earth objects and help characterize previously known asteroids and comets. It provides information about the sizes and compositions of these objects."
"NEOWISE is a vital asset in NASA's program to find objects that truly represent an impact hazard to Earth," said Lindley Johnson, program executive for the Near-Earth Object Observation Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. "The data reveal how far we've come to understand the danger to Earth but it will still take a concerted effort to find all of them that could do serious damage."
In 2012, the president's budget allowed for $20.4 million to fund an expanded NASA Near-Earth Object (NEO) Observations Program. The program had been running on $4 million per year since the 1990s, according to the press releases. The program was again expanded in fiscal year 2014 and given a budget of $40.5 million. NASA is asking Congress for $50 million in the 2016 budget.
On Wednesday, NASA announced more details for its Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM), which will test a number of new capabilities needed for future human expeditions to deep space, including to Mars. NASA also announced it has increased the detection of near-Earth Asteroids by 65 percent since launching its asteroid initiative three years ago. To read more about ARM, check out HNGN's coverage of the announcement.
