Arushi Nath
Founder, MonitorMyPlanet. Open Science · Computation · Astronomy
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Arushi Nath
Founder, MonitorMyPlanet. Open Science · Computation · Astronomy
Founder: Monitor My Planet
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Using open science, robotic telescopes, and algorithms to strengthen planetary defense against near-Earth asteroids and discover multi-planet exoplanet systems since 2021.
On April 24, 2026, I gave a 12-minute oral presentation, "Photometric Characterization of Potentially Hazardous Asteroid 2025 FA22: Rotation Period, Shape, and Taxonomy," at the 32nd Young Scientists' Conference on Astronomy and Space Physics hosted online by Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (April 20–25, 2026). The conference brings together bachelor's, master's, and Ph.D. students alongside early-career researchers from across the world. In my talk I shared how I observed the newly discovered potentially hazardous asteroid 2025 FA22 during its close approach to Earth on 2025 September 18 UTC, when it passed within roughly two lunar distances. Key results I presented included: a well-defined synodic rotation period of 13.075 ± 0.002 hours, derived from R-band photometry; a peak-to-peak lightcurve amplitude of 0.62 mag, with a double-peaked structure pointing to an elongated body; and multi-filter BVRI photometry yielding moderately red colours consistent with an S-complex taxonomic classification. These findings have since been peer-reviewed and published in the Minor Planet Bulletin, 53(2), 2026, and the Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, 120(2), April 2026. Read more
My latest research has been published in the Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA) 2025 FA22 made a close approach to Earth on 2025 September 18 (UTC) at a distance of approximately two lunar distances. I obtained time-resolved CCD photometry of the asteroid during its close Earth approach in September 2025. A well-defined rotation period of 13.075 ± 0.002 h was derived from R-band photometry, with a peak-to-peak lightcurve amplitude of 0.62 mag, implying a significantly elongated shape. Multi-filter BVRI photometry yields moderately red colours consistent with an S-complex taxonomic classification. These observations demonstrate that citizen scientists can provide meaningful physical characterization of near-Earth asteroids. Read more
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On March 17th, 2026, I gave an oral presentation on my "Physical Characterization of Potentially Hazardous Asteroid 2025 FA22: Rotational Period, Shape, and Taxonomy," at the 57th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC) held in The Woodlands, Texas. I shared how I observed 2025 FA22 over six nights between September 19–26, 2025, using the 0.305-m Ritchey-Chrétien telescope at MonitorMyPlanet Observatory (MPC R60) and performed differential photometry to reveal its physical properties. The meeting brought together over 2000 scientists and astronomers.
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The newly discovered potentially hazardous asteroid 2025 FA22 made a close approach to Earth in September 2025, passing within a few lunar distances. Using observations collected over six nights from my MonitorMyPlanet Observatory (MPC code R60) in Nerpio, Spain, I derived a synodic rotation period of 13.075 ± 0.002 hours with a peak-to-peak amplitude of 0.62 magnitudes. The resulting double-peaked lightcurve indicates an elongated shape, with a minimum axis ratio of a/b ≳ 1.77. Complementary BVRI photometry further places the asteroid within the S-Cluster. These results have been published in the Minor Planet Bulletin.
"ExoClock Project IV: A Homogeneous Catalog of 620 Updated Exoplanet Ephemerides" (Kokori et al. 2026, ApJS, 283, 5) has been published in the Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series.
I am a co-author, having contributed 30 transit photometry observations of several exoplanets to the ExoClock network. Several of my observations focused on targets flagged with significant ephemeris drift, or potential transit timing variations (TTVs), including TESS-discovered planets with short observational baselines and rapidly growing uncertainties.
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I am a co-author, having contributed 30 transit photometry observations of several exoplanets to the ExoClock network. Several of my observations focused on targets flagged with significant ephemeris drift, or potential transit timing variations (TTVs), including TESS-discovered planets with short observational baselines and rapidly growing uncertainties.
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I conducted my first comet astrometry observations of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS (C/2025 N1), as part of the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) observing campaign. I imaged the comet on multiple nights in December 2025 using short exposures to minimize trailing, stacked images aligned on the comet’s motion, and calibrated astrometry against the GAIA DR3 star catalog. These observations and submissions contributed to the campaign’s goal of improving precision orbit determination for this rare interstellar object.
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The Minor Planet Bulletin (MPB) call list is a key resource for astronomers to identify asteroids that are due for observational campaigns. When (2977) Chivilikhin appeared on the list for its 2025 apparition, I decided to measure its lightcurve again, as its rotation period had last been measured nearly a decade ago. My observations revealed a synodic rotation period of 6.257 ± 0.001 hours with a peak-to-peak amplitude of 0.98 magnitudes. This result aligns perfectly with the 2016 data (6.257 ± 0.0007 hours), showing that the asteroid’s rotation has remained stable.
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On October 4, 2025, I gave an oral presentation of my year-long research, "Extending Exoplanet Ephemerides through TTV Analysis with NEPTUNE and Ground-Based Observations," at the 5th ExoClock Annual Meeting held at the Polytechnic University of Madrid, Spain. I shared how I performed 100,000+ computer simulations of Transit Timing Variations (TTVs) and combined them with ground based photometry data to extend the orbital ephemerides of exoplanets. The meeting was attended by 100+ scientists and astronomers working on refining exoplanet ephemerides in preparation for the ESA Ariel telescope.
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I represented Canada at the 2025 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). My project, "NEPTUNE: N-body Exoplanet Prediction Using TTV for Unseen Exoplanets," won the Third Grand Prize in the Physics and Astronomy category. My research combines N-body simulations and Transit Timing Variations (TTVs) to detect unseen exoplanets, improving orbital ephemerides and aiding in the discovery of new planetary companions. This work was validated with Kepler-46b data and continues to expand with contributions to NASA’s TESS and ESA’s ExoClock initiatives.
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The 34th European Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS) was held in Brussels, Belgium. It brought together 136 promising young scientists aged 14 to 20, from 36 countries across the EU and beyond for a five-day competition. I was honored to represent Canada as Winner of the Top Award of the 2023 Canada-Wide Science Fair. My project "Developing Algorithms to Determine Asteroid's Physical Properties and Success of Deflection Missions" won the second prize. I was the youngest contestant and the prize winner.
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The 2023 Canada-Wide Science Fair (CWSF) organised by Youth Science Canada took place in Edmonton, Alberta, from May 14 to May 19, 2023. It brought together some 396 regional science fair finalists from 7th to 12th grade from across Canada. My project "Developing algorithms to determine asteroid’s physical properties and success of deflection missions" won the 2023 Best Project Award of the Canada-Wide Science Fair (Innovation). I will now represent Canada at the European Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS) in Brussels in September 2023.
In addition to the Best Project Award, I won 5 more awards:
- Gold Medal
- The Actuarial Foundation of Canada Award
- Excellence in Astronomy Award from the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada
- Top of the Category Award in Curiosity and Ingenuity
- Youth Can Innovate Award
I also won the 2022 Best Project Award last year, becoming the first back-to-back best project award winner since 1989-1990 and the youngest ever to do so.
For more information on my project visit: https://www.monitormyplanet.com/posts/1393
For more information on my project visit: https://www.monitormyplanet.com/posts/1393
The 8th Planetary Defense Conference was held at the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) in Vienna, Austria, from 3 - 7 April 2023. I was thrilled that my research abstract, "Citizen Science for NASA DART Mission: How I Used Robotic Telescopes, Open-Data, Python, and Maths to Study the Didymos System Before and After the Impact," was accepted as an in-person poster presentation at the Conference. Two years I gave an oral presentation of research on asteroid Apophis via webcam as the 2021 Planetary Defense Conference was held virtually. This year I presented my citizen science work on planetary defense using robotic telescopes and open data, in particular on the characterization of Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) and measuring the impact of the NASA Double Asteroids Redirection Test (DART) Mission.
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Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC) 2023 Poster Presentation
(My Research Poster in 20 threaded tweets)
Strengthening Planetary Defense: Developing Algorithms to Determine the Physical Properties of Asteroids using Robotic Telescopes and Applying them to Measure the Impact of NASA’s DART Asteroid Deflection Mission
The pace of discovery of near-earth asteroids outpaces current abilities to analyze them. Knowledge of an asteroid's physical properties is essential to deflect them. I developed open-source algorithms that combine images from robotic telescopes and open data to determine asteroids' size, rotation, and strength. I took observations of the Didymos binary asteroid, and my algorithm determined it to be 850m wide, with a 2.26-hour rotation period and rubble pile strength. I measured a 35-minute decrease in the mutual orbital period after impact by the 2022 NASA DART Mission. External sources validated the findings. Every citizen scientist is now a planetary defender.
https://lpsc2023.ipostersessions.com/default.aspx?s=95-60-E2-17-9B-F9-00-E5-DE-30-39-F3-57-70-5D-0C&guestview=true
The pace of discovery of near-earth asteroids outpaces current abilities to analyze them. Knowledge of an asteroid's physical properties is essential to deflect them. I developed open-source algorithms that combine images from robotic telescopes and open data to determine asteroids' size, rotation, and strength. I took observations of the Didymos binary asteroid, and my algorithm determined it to be 850m wide, with a 2.26-hour rotation period and rubble pile strength. I measured a 35-minute decrease in the mutual orbital period after impact by the 2022 NASA DART Mission. External sources validated the findings. Every citizen scientist is now a planetary defender.
https://lpsc2023.ipostersessions.com/default.aspx?s=95-60-E2-17-9B-F9-00-E5-DE-30-39-F3-57-70-5D-0C&guestview=true
Publication: Finding Unknown Asteroids to Strengthen Planetary Defence
Arushi Nath. Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. Volume 117. February 2023.
The success of the NASA Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) Mission in slamming a kinetic impactor on moonlet Dimorphos of asteroid Didymos on 2022 September 26 and changing its orbit has put the planetary defence on world news. The challenge of planetary defence intrigues me. Roughly 66 million years ago, an asteroid at least 10–kilometres wide may have led to the extinction of dinosaurs. If humans do not want to suffer the same fate, then we need to be well-informed and prepared to handle any threats of an asteroid colliding with Earth.
https://www.rasc.ca/sites/default/files/publications/jrasc2023-feb-hr.pdf
The success of the NASA Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) Mission in slamming a kinetic impactor on moonlet Dimorphos of asteroid Didymos on 2022 September 26 and changing its orbit has put the planetary defence on world news. The challenge of planetary defence intrigues me. Roughly 66 million years ago, an asteroid at least 10–kilometres wide may have led to the extinction of dinosaurs. If humans do not want to suffer the same fate, then we need to be well-informed and prepared to handle any threats of an asteroid colliding with Earth.
https://www.rasc.ca/sites/default/files/publications/jrasc2023-feb-hr.pdf
Citizen science and robotic telescopes have brought astronomy to everyone, from school kids to backyard astronomers and those staying in rural areas with dark skies to city dwellers living under a light cloud. For the past two years, Arushi Nath, age 13, has been using robotic telescopes, open datasets, python algorithms, and middle school maths to undertake research on near-earth asteroids. Astrometry-related observations helped her identify asteroids, provide information about their celestial location, and predict their future locations. Photometry involved taking images of the asteroid to find its magnitude. Longer observations yield a change in magnitude, which makes it possible to find the rotational period. For binary asteroids, she uses light curves to find the moonlet’s orbital period. As with all her research, she makes her datasets and methodology open source to reach out to other youths and citizen scientists.
https://hotpoprobot.com/2022/11/24/webinar-asteroid-science-with-remote-telescope/
https://hotpoprobot.com/2022/11/24/webinar-asteroid-science-with-remote-telescope/
Strengthening Planetary Defense: Detecting Unknown Asteroids using Open Data, Math, and Python
I took images from 4 telescopes located at different latitudes to get full sky coverage. I wrote Python algorithms to query European Space Agency’s GAIA and NASA’s Horizon sky catalogues to find all known stars and asteroids. Mean, standard deviation, and histograms created masks to remove known objects. The remaining objects were classified as possible asteroid candidates.
I detected 3 ‘preliminary’ asteroids. Using the telescope's focal length and celestial location, my algorithm’s plate-solving ability determined its Right Ascension and Declination. I reported this information by creating a Minor Planet Center report for my images. I have made my code and methodology open-source to crowdsource planetary defense.