Search real telescope images for unknown asteroids
A friend has invited you to do this with them.
COIAS lets anyone search archive images from the Subaru Telescope on Maunakea for small bodies that have never been recorded. By July 2026 more than 3,000 people had taken part, and a handful of volunteers' finds have been officially named.
GentleFreeA few weeksIndoorsOn your own
Someone who has done it
How to start
- Read the Subaru Telescope's account of the project and how a volunteer's find was named.
- Work through the COIAS walk-through before measuring anything.
- Keep a log of evenings, minutes and objects measured, and aim for 100 measurements.
Where to go
- Subaru Telescope: asteroid discovered through COIAS receives Hawaiian name
- SciStarter: COIAS (Come On! Impacting ASteroids)
We opened these links on 6 November 2026 and found them to be what we say. Dates, places and prices are on the official page, where they stay up to date.
Plan this
Pick a day, or a month, and we will set out how to get ready, step by step, with a date and a reason for each. Projects run over months and stall without a rhythm, so the plan sets milestones you can see.
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