Asteroids

Faculty Lead: Carrie Nugent

 

External Collaborators

  • James “Gerbs” Bauer, Research Professor, University of Maryland

Research Objectives

This research takes tools from the fields of mathematics and computer science and uses them to discover and better understand asteroids and comets. Carrie works with physics and astronomy students to model the physical properties and evolution of these bodies and she works with engineering students to develop software that enables other researchers and citizen scientists to study asteroids and comets.

Impact

Recent published projects include the first large-scale reprocessing of asteroid discovery survey images, linking software that makes it easier for users to find asteroids and comets in images of the night sky, and a comparison of the likelihood of a 140 or larger impact with other preventable causes of death.

 

Learn more about Professor Nugent's work

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Nugent’s Spacepod Podcast Reaches Million Download Milestone

Nugent has been hosting Spacepod, an inside look into space exploration, since August 2015 and has produced 180 episodes for a worldwide audience. Each week, Nugent hosts leading experts in astronomy and planetary science.

Read More
Visit the Nugent Lab website
A professor wearing glasses, dark sweater and shoulder-length light brown hair, looks on as a student writes on the classroom whiteboard.
Adventures of an Asteroid Hunter

TED Fellow Carrie Nugent is an asteroid hunter -- part of a group of scientists working to discover and catalog our oldest and most numerous cosmic neighbors. In this short, fact-filled talk, Nugent explains how their awesome impacts have shaped our planet, and how finding them at the right time could mean nothing less than saving life on Earth.

Watch her TED Talk