Awards & Nominations
Old MacDonald Went To Space has received the following awards and nominations. Way to go!
Global Finalists Honorable Mentions
When Light Curves Throw Us Curve Balls:
High-Level Project Summary
The basis of the challenge was to demonstrate how different shaped objects can affect the shape of its light curve. We developed a software program that generates a light curve from a user inputted video. By using different objects as inputs for the program we can show that the shape, orientation, axis of rotation, and position in space relative to the source of light all affect the shape of the light curve. The main application of the solution is for educational purposes. The tool provides hands-on experience as to how shape, size, and rotation of asteroids can be determined using reflection of light. We hope this product can be developed further to create a mobile app for all to use.
Link to Project "Demo"
Link to Final Project
Detailed Project Description
We developed code using Python (including the libraries OpenCV for video processing, Pillow for image processing, and Matplotlib for graphing) that takes an input video or group of images and generates its light curve. The output light curve is graphed according to the relative luminance of each image. The application creates the data for this curve by breaking down each second of the video into five snapshots, and analyzing each individual image. The code analyzes each pixel in the image and measures the total luminance by the 1931 CIE XYZ colour space standards. The nature of this project means that possible input images or videos can be of recorded 3D models (via screen capture), or real world objects. This application’s main purpose is to provide an environment to facilitate learning about light curves and the associated physical processes. It achieves this in a way that is easy to implement and has applications for both research and educational fields.
Space Agency Data
Using the NASA database, we downloaded 3D models of several asteroids and animated them to spin to simulate them rotating on a simple axis in space with a single light source. We could then place clips of these animations in the software to generate light curves for the asteroids. Using these, we were able to finetune the code to generate more accurate output graphs for the given asteroids. Within the presentation, we included results for the asteroids Mithra and Geographos to demonstrate the functionality of the code. The proof of concept with the models from the database helped us better understand the output from the imperfect video. The slight movements and irregularities in the video showed up in the curve to further demonstrate the functionality of the software. Thus, without the Data on hand, testing the software would have been much more difficult, and the end product would not have been as accurate.
Hackathon Journey
Our group had a lot of fun in the Space Apps experience. We are a group of four engineering students who are passionate about the fields of space and astronomy. We were inspired to take on the “How Light Curves Throw Us Curveballs” challenge because it was a good fit for our interests in physics and programming. Our approach to this project was to spend a considerable amount of time researching and learning the concept behind the challenge before moving to a brainstorming session. Once we had determined an idea which we were passionate about, we started developing our application and presentation resources. In terms of setbacks, there were a few struggles while planning everything out as we had some team members drop out last minute, which presented an additional challenge moving forward. Additionally, it took a while to think of a realistic solution, but once we did, we all came together and worked hard to develop a working product. We ended the Space Apps experience by practicing and preparing a presentation to communicate our findings and solution and were happy to receive a judge nomination based on the best local presentation award. We would like to thank the organizers of the event, the judges, and other participants in the competition.
References
Light curve. Light Curve - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics. (n.d.). Retrieved October 3, 2021, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/light-curve.
Mottola, S., Hellmich, S., Buie, M. W., Zangari, A. M., Marchi, S., Brown, M. E., & Levison, H. F. (2020). Convex shape and rotation model of Lucy Target (11351) Leucus from Lightcurves and occultations. The Planetary Science Journal, 1(3), 73. https://doi.org/10.3847/psj/abb942
NASA. (n.d.). Search. NASA. Retrieved October 3, 2021, from https://nasa3d.arc.nasa.gov/search/asteroid/model.
Stokes, M., & Anderson, M. (1996). Definition of the sRGB Color Space. A standard default color space for the internet - srgb. Retrieved October 3, 2021, from https://www.w3.org/Graphics/Color/sRGB.
Tags
#lightcurve, #NASA, #asteroid, #research, #McMaster, #McMasterEngineering
Global Judging
This project has been submitted for consideration during the Judging process.