MARCH 28 - APRIL 24, 2019
The AWB-IASC Asteroid Search Campaign application is closed.
Astronomers Without Borders and International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC=”Isaac”) are sponsoring a special Asteroid Search Campaign as part of Global Astronomy Month. IASC is an online educational outreach program for high school and college students to make original astronomical discoveries. Learn more about asteroids on our Observing Resources page.
Thirty schools or teams of students from around the world will be selected to participate. The campaign will start on March 28, 2019 and end on April 24, 2019. To participate, please complete the form at the bottom of the page by March 15, 2019. Schools and teams will be selected based on a one-paragraph description explaining the reasons the teacher and students want to participate. In order to allow for geographic diversity in this special GAM2019 global project, no more than one school will be selected from any country. There is no cost to the students or schools to submit an application or participate.
During the campaign, each team will receive 20 unique sets of images (weather permitting) and search them for asteroids using Astrometrica software. Each image set will be taken along the celestial ecliptic at the University of Hawaii (Pan-STARRS) and will be sent to each team just hours after they have been taken. Using the software Astrometrica, the team will accurately measure the time and position of asteroids moving in the background. The measurements are recorded in a report sent to IASC. IASC will provide support through their website to learn the software and to answer questions by email.
Each year 1200 teams participate from more than 80 countries. Since the first search in October 2006, over 1500 asteroids have been discovered and 52 asteroids have been numbered by the International Astronomical Union (Paris). Numbered asteroids are recorded in the world’s official minor planet catalog and will be named by their student discoverers.
Leaders of the Iranian teams in the All-Iran Asteroid Search Campaign
Note: Even if your school is not selected to participate in this special GAM2019 project, it may still be able to participate in any of the 20 or more other asteroid search campaigns IASC organizes throughout the year.
Download asteroid orbital paths to swell print for the visually impaired from the SEE Project.
Share your experience with the world on Facebook or Instagram and Tweet using #GAM2019. Follow @awb_org. Visit IASC's website.
