Most of us are too preoccupied with getting the kids to school in rush-hour traffic or paying last month’s electricity bill to worry about killer asteroids smashing into our planet at speeds of 50,000 miles per hour. But that’s okay. Physics students at Mountain View College have got it covered.

 

Seven students at Mountain View College (MVC) in Dallas, Texas recently received recognition for their contributions to the Killer Asteroid Project, a world-wide National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) program operated by the Astronomical Institute (ARI) located in Charleston, Illinois. The project is part of a broader campaign called the International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC), under the direction of Dr. J. Patrick Miller of the Department of Mathematics at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas.

 

Throughout the Spring 2009 semester, physics students at MVC studied telescope images taken at ARI to identify potentially dangerous near-Earth objects (NEO’s) and communicated their findings electronically to IASC personnel. Upon further evaluation, those reports were forwarded to the Minor Planet Center at Harvard University, and eventually on to the Near-Earth Object Program operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at NASA.

 

Participating MVC students each received certificates of recognition from NASA and the Astronomical Research Institute for their valuable contributions to the project. More than 150 schools from 13 countries participated in the project during the previous academic year, but MVC was the only college in Texas to participate during the Spring 2009 semester. Physics students at MVC were fortunate enough to be invited to participate in both the Fall 2008 and Spring 2009 semesters, and proved themselves worthy of the honor. MVC students submitted nine significant observations of near-Earth objects during the spring semester, 11 in the fall semester, and also made three entirely new discoveries of near-earth objects that were previously unknown or un-named. 

 

The significance of the students’ work can hardly be understated. Only a decade ago, a comet named Shoemaker-Levy 9 slammed into Jupiter. That same impact here on Earth would have very likely extinguished all human life on our planet. On March 15, 2004, an asteroid named Apophis missed Earth by just 24,000 miles; close enough that the Earth’s gravity actually helped to deflect the 885-foot diameter missile. A direct hit by a NEO of three kilometers in size or larger could produce an extinction-level event that scientists refer to as the “Deep Impact” or “Armageddon” variety. The technology exists today to actually alter the path of a killer asteroid, provided that enough warning time was provided.

 

Most MVC physics students taking part in the project admittedly had little intention of saving the planet, however. Some students participated in the voluntary program hoping to bolster their physics grades, while others simply got involved as a means of satisfying their lifelong curiosities about stars and planets. Regardless of their motives, all of the students seemingly agree that the project was both educational and rewarding.

 

“I honestly wasn’t that interested in the project at first,” admitted Grand Prairie High graduate and sophomore Daniela Grimaldo. “But then we found an object, and then others, and then my instructor got excited, and we did too.”

 

Grimaldo, like many of her physics classmates, is not pursuing a career in the field of astronomy. Instead, she plans to study biology at the University of Texas at Arlington following her graduation from MVC. Grimaldo worked on the project with classmate Eva Quiroz, a sophomore who plans to study architecture upon graduation from MVC.

 

“I thought we would be looking through telescopes, but instead we worked off of pictures,” Quiroz said. “At first, the images really didn’t make much sense to me. But after you got acquainted with the images and knew what to look for, things started falling into place. Finding objects was really motivational because you knew you might be doing something that was potentially very important.”

 

Even for students with an interest in the study of space, the project offered tangible rewards beyond their original expectations.

 

“I’ve always liked science, including things related to space,” said MVC sophomore Jose Cardenas. “But honestly, I never envisioned myself as someone very likely to make new scientific discoveries. This is pretty exciting stuff, and it’s been a great experience for me. This has definitely been one of my most rewarding academic experiences because it’s tangible… it’s right there… and it’s real.”

 

Cardenas, a 2005 graduate of South Grand Prairie High School, recorded several “near misses” before hitting the jackpot with new discoveries on Oct. 5 and Oct. 17 of 2008. Cardenas was informed by the International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC) that his exploration of space had yielded the discovery of two new Main Belt asteroids, K08SK9M and K08SM3Z, and that he and his project partner Nabin Adhikari, would be officially recognized as “measurers and discoverers” by the Minor Planet Center at Harvard University and the International Astronomical Union. Cardenas hopes to study engineering upon his eventual transfer to a four-year college or university. Adhikari is working toward a double major in English and science, and graduated high school in Syangja, Nepal, in 1998.

 

MVC faculty members also applaud the Killer Asteroid Project and IASC as a unique way to engage students in a worthwhile educational endeavor that demonstrates real-life applications of scientific knowledge.

 

“The Killer Asteroid project, or the International Astronomical Search Collaboration, has been rewarding for both our students and faculty,” said MVC physics instructor, Shahnaz Sokhansanj.

 

“The campaign has gotten students involved outside the classroom, resulting in greater retention and greater overall emphasis on the sciences. Of course, it has also been immensely rewarding for our faculty to learn that our students have made these exciting discoveries, and we commend them for their efforts.”

 

Other students at MVC who received special recognition for their contributions to the Killer Asteroid project during the Spring 2009 semester included James Stratton, Joseph Helms, Fernando Contreras, Janeen Jervis and Melina Aguilar.

 

Online educational tools that permit students around the world to make astronomical observations have resulted in the discovery of more than 100 Main Belt asteroids. Thanks to tech-savvy students internationally, and those at MVC, the rest of us can continue concerning ourselves with everyday, down-to-Earth challenges, oblivious to the hazards of killer asteroids and near-Earth objects of all varieties.

 

Mountain View College is located in Southwest Dallas County at 4849 West Illinois Ave., and is one of seven institutions within the Dallas County Community College District.