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Photo: icehunters.org
Participation fee $0
Expenses $0
Spend the time indoors
Location online
Children no
Primary school no
Secondary school yes
Teaching materials no


Required Gear:

Computer with internet


New Horizons Icehunters


Find undiscovered asteroids; help map next space probe mission.
Search online images (some never-before seen) to spot asteroids.

The goal of this project is to discover Kuiper Belt Objects with just the right orbit and just the right characteristics to make them eligible for a visit from the New Horizons mission. At this time, the space probe has enough fuel in reserve to allow up to two different objects to be visited.

This is where you come in. To find these icy KBO targets we need your help poring over thousands of ground based images, taken specially for this purpose using giant telescopes. Hiding within these images are undiscovered slow-moving Kuiper Belt Objects, asteroids zipping through the foreground, and millions of background stars.