Asteroid and Comet Radar detection?

Can we use incoming gamma rays, x-rays, cosmic rays to resolve asteroids and comets? We always hear earth is being bombarded with all the above. Would it be possible to create a receiver like a Radar receiver along with computers to detect and resolve what's out there in our local Solar System?

Heck the Sun itself is a huge transmitter of all types of energy. Could you put Satellite near by it that detects energy leaving sun then detects anything bouncing back? We should have computers fast enough to resolve through the frequencies and types of energy going out.

Just curious!

The best way for detection of these objects would be to set probes in space at strategic locations that send a signal alarm, data and video. These probes could detect basically anything that moves within its range, send this data to base and analyze. Anything earth based would not really work well as the planet rotates, also rotating the unit itself. This is a real project in progress by a group supported by NASA.....

originally posted by: Xeven
Can we use incoming gamma rays, x-rays, cosmic rays to resolve asteroids and comets? We always hear earth is being bombarded with all the above. Would it be possible to create a receiver like a Radar receiver along with computers to detect and resolve what's out there in our local Solar System?

Heck the Sun itself is a huge transmitter of all types of energy. Could you put Satellite near by it that detects energy leaving sun then detects anything bouncing back? We should have computers fast enough to resolve through the frequencies and types of energy going out.

Just curious!

The Sun is very dim in X-rays and gamma rays, and thankfully so, otherwise we'd all be fried down here. The Sun emmits mostly in visible and infrared, with a bit of UV and a tiny bit of X-rays and even tinier bit of gamma rays. It's much easier to detect asteroids in visible and infrared, and the only way to resolve their surface is with a radio radar.

If there were a better way to detect and resolve asteroids and comets, I'm sure the astronomers would have found and used it.

originally posted by: teslahowitzer
The best way for detection of these objects would be to set probes in space at strategic locations that send a signal alarm, data and video. These probes could detect basically anything that moves within its range, send this data to base and analyze.

The Solar System is a very empty place. What kind of "strategic locations" do you mean? There aren't any such locations when it comes to asteroids, as far as I'm aware.

Anything earth based would not really work well as the planet rotates

Earth's rotation actually makes it easier to spot asteroids, as various observatories around the world get a full view of the sky over the course of time. If the Earth didn't rotate, we'd get a limited view over any particular place on the ground.

This is a real project in progress by a group supported by NASA.....

Link please.

Space is big. Really, really big. Radar would be pretty ineffective at such a large distance. Currently asteroids and comets are discovered with Earth based telescopes. Lots of amateur astronomers and a handful of dedicated observers watch parts of the of the sky looking for light trails against the backdrop of stars.

Any observations are plugged into a big database with the Minor Planet Center. Objects are catalogued and followed by, mostly volunteers, and the size and velocity of the object is determined.

originally posted by: Xeven
Heck the Sun itself is a huge transmitter of all types of energy. Could you put Satellite near by it that detects energy leaving sun then detects anything bouncing back? We should have computers fast enough to resolve through the frequencies and types of energy going out.

Putting on my engineering hat, all the bodies in the solar system absorb some solar radiation and reflect the rest, at various frequencies. How much is absorbed and reflected depends on the composition of the object.

I think what would prevent this idea from being practical is "signal to noise", meaning we would get a reflected electromagnetic signal at various frequencies from every object in the solar system, but if it's so weak that it's no stronger than background radiation coming from more distant sources like other stars and galaxies, it's not of any help in detection.

a reply to: wildespace As little free time as I have, here goes... you may know that the hubble scope has better imagery in space than thru the atmosphere. Same for small object detection and imagery ...less fuzz if you will. Also, as the earth rotates, you have a peak "view" for a time and then less as you ride the rotation, in space. you can set your detecting units at strategic locations observing a certain zone that can overlay time progression imaging and possibly a radar system that can "paint" the field. Yes, you would need several, and they can operate the same way radars in conjunction do, and even overlap. Do you really buy the theory that an earth based unit would be better than a similar unit in space...or the moon with no atmosphere? Last...this is not new ground, this and theories/programs have been researched, analyzed, and planned just like man's eventual trip to Mar's (if we make it that long). I have no link....just people I know and work with...

a reply to: teslahowitzer

Whilst what you describe is technologically achievable, if Europe and North America decided to do this it would cost two days of military spending - a totally untenable idea (shamefully).

Here you go!

originally posted by: Arbitrageur

originally posted by: Xeven
Heck the Sun itself is a huge transmitter of all types of energy. Could you put Satellite near by it that detects energy leaving sun then detects anything bouncing back? We should have computers fast enough to resolve through the frequencies and types of energy going out.

Putting on my engineering hat, all the bodies in the solar system absorb some solar radiation and reflect the rest, at various frequencies. How much is absorbed and reflected depends on the composition of the object.

I think what would prevent this idea from being practical is "signal to noise", meaning we would get a reflected electromagnetic signal at various frequencies from every object in the solar system, but if it's so weak that it's no stronger than background radiation coming from more distant sources like other stars and galaxies, it's not of any help in detection.

So you cannot really control the frequencies put out by the sun, but If you position Satellites close to the sun that can record outgoing energy of your choice and the power and frequencies of each emission from the sun, you should then be able to monitor for that return frequency as it reflects back off of objects. Granted, space is huge and the power levels may not be as great as I think they are. It was just an idea. The idea here would be to use the suns enormous power and energy as your "Radar" transmitter.

I thought the sun would put out higher energy than just infrared and visible that would be detectable when reflected back. If not then the idea wont work. This was more a thought experiment without having thorough knowledge of the system I am thinking about.

With modern computers and software and even receiver technology I figured we would be able to resolve things that maybe at one time we could not.

Either way we are pretty arrogant a species to know how deadly an asteroid or comet would and will be to us on earth someday and we are doing little to nothing to prepare and prevent.

The Department of Defense has a duty to protect us, so they should spend some of their annual trillion on at the very minimum detecting everything that could be a threat and knowing where we stand since we DO have the technology to make it so.

They could probably postpone 5 or 6 broken F-35 deliveries and build a robust enough system to detect all serious threatening asteroids and comets. Would be money better spent in the short term.

I realize the odds are on our side that it "should" be many many years before Earth is threatened again, but it could also happen tomorrow and we would just be exterminated.

Sometimes I think the religious beliefs of our world leaders cause them to not take threats seriously as they have "Faith" that some greater power is protecting us or that a greater power has a plan. While that argument is another thread entirely, it is something that we must consider as a species if we wish to not go extinct.

We as a species need to be proactive in our own security in the absence of a very obvious, even detectible, protecting loving creator God. We need to look out for ourselves, simply because faith does not make it so. It may just be the way your deity planned it ya know.

I love the idea. Using high frequency wave ( Xray and above) need lot more tech development for reflections
Even large asteroid is tiny in space. Better try detection using radio or light shadow from asteroid as it passes by sun or bright stars. Could be optical or radio star sources. But need lots of computer power on satellite to avoid atmospheric scintillation on alternate ground sensor, since 100Gb datalinks to ground are hard to beyond geo.

Better idea might be park a 100Gwatt narrowband radio point-noise source close to sun ( for power-supply purposes) to illuminate the solarsystem with known, controllable signal.

What kind of "strategic locations" do you mean? There aren't any such locations when it comes to asteroids, as far as I'm aware.

One possibility would be to launch three dedicated asteroid hunting satellites orbiting Venus, Earth and Mars respectively. This would give three unique vantage points for early detection.

These satellites may even discover the planet Gor (described as a habitable planet in the Solar System that shares the same orbit as Earth, but it is linearly opposed to Earth and consequently always hidden by the Sun, making direct observation of it from Earth impossible).

On a more serious note, New Desktop Application Has Potential to Increase Asteroid Detection, Now Available to Public