Arushi Nath | Citizen Science Approach to Planetary Defense and Exoplanet Characterization
Foresight Institute’s Space Group
Citizen Science Approach to Planetary Defense and Exoplanet Characterization
Bio: Arushi Nath is a Foresight Fellow, 2024 Masason scholar, and a two-time winner of Canada’s Top Young Scientist Award. She received the 2023 Young Astronomers Award from the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada for her contributions to citizen science. Her work in planetary defense supported NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, using a citizen science approach to analyze asteroid properties before and after impact. Her research has been published in Acta Astronautica and The Planetary Science Journal. She is now expanding her work into exoplanet characterization through Transit Timing Variations (TTVs).
Abstract: Astronomical data is expanding rapidly, with upcoming missions like the Vera Rubin Observatory, Ariel, and PLATO set to generate petabytes of data. Citizen scientists play a crucial role by providing continuous observations, validating findings, and developing open-source models to improve data quality and support long-term analysis.
One key application is planetary defense. Of the 1.3 million known asteroids, only a small fraction have detailed phase curves, limiting threat assessment. To address this, I developed algorithms that integrate sparse observations from space- and ground-based surveys with citizen science data, accelerating asteroid characterization. I applied this to the Didymos system, confirming its successful deflection in NASA’s DART mission.
A similar challenge exists in exoplanet research. Many planets remain undetected due to gravitational interactions with unseen companions, causing subtle Transit Timing Variations (TTVs). To analyze these, I generated large-scale N-body simulations. Combined with data from Kepler, TESS, and ExoClock, this approach refines orbital and physical parameters in multi-planet systems.
This seminar is part of Foresight's Space Group Seminar Series. To join future seminars in this program please apply here.
A group of researchers, entrepreneurs, and allies advancing space technologies, from near-term applications to long-term exploration such as space flight, manufacturing, mining, and governance.
Nominate a seminar presenter/topic
Feel free to reach out to lydia@foresight.org with any questions.