Published
asteroid
vr.tr.asteroid · thing-q3863
Let an agent handle asteroids by designation, orbit, size and composition, including near-Earth objects and impact risk, with official sources.
Thing Registry Physical world and living systems PHY.SPC
Bundle → Layer → Finding → QuestionsClassifiersWhat it isWhy it existsDistinguishing featuresWhat robots and AI may and may not doMoral aspectsOwnersLinks to other meta-modelsIdentity and identifiersDirect propertiesRecognitionCapabilities and actionsHazards and failure modesStandards and interfacesContext of useSources
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions
Identity Which asteroid.
Designation
Number and name.
Designation
Designation and name.
- What is its designation and name? provenance
- Is it provisional? boundary
Class
Orbital and compositional class.
Class
The classes.
- Which orbital group does it belong to? definition
- What is its spectral type? definition
Orbit Where it goes.
Orbital elements
Path.
Orbit
Orbital elements.
- What are its orbital elements and their uncertainty? measurement
- When is its next close approach? measurement
Impact risk
Probability.
Risk rating
Risk rating.
- What is its impact probability and Torino rating, from which source? provenance
- How should that be communicated without alarm? action
Physical Size and composition.
Size
Diameter and mass.
Size
Size estimate.
- How large is it, and how was that estimated? measurement
- What is its rotation period? measurement
Composition
Rock, metal, carbon.
Composition
Composition.
- What is it made of? measurement
- Is it a rubble pile? definition
Exploration Missions.
Missions
Visits and samples.
Missions
Missions to it.
- Has any mission visited it? provenance
- What did it find? provenance
Planetary defence
Deflection.
Defence
Deflection tests.
- Has deflection been tested on it or similar bodies? provenance
- Who coordinates response? provenance
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Physical world and living systems
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- PHY
- Domain
- PHY.SPC
- Other names and narrower kinds
- trojan, Uranus trojan, trojan moon, Mars trojan, Earth trojan, Venus trojan, Neptune trojan, Jupiter trojan, Earth-crossing asteroid, hyperbolic asteroid, near-Earth asteroid, captured asteroid
What it is Filled
A small rocky or metallic body orbiting the Sun, mostly in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter, and also as trojans and near-Earth objects, too small to be a planet and lacking a comet coma.
Why it exists Filled
Let an agent handle asteroids by designation, orbit, size and composition, including near-Earth objects and impact risk, with official sources.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Small Solar System body without a coma
- Most in the main belt
- Trojans share a planet orbit at Lagrange points
- Near-Earth asteroids are monitored for impact risk
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Spread alarmist impact claims beyond official risk assessments.
- Dismiss an official impact warning.
- Present commercial claims to an asteroid as recognised ownership.
Only with a human decision
- Public communication of an impact risk.
- Any action to deflect or alter an asteroid's orbit.
May
- Report asteroid designations, orbits and impact assessments from official sources.
- Distinguish provisional from permanent designations.
Moral aspects Filled
- Impacts are rare but could affect everyone, so communication must be calm and accurate.
Who is affected
- The public
- Planetary defence agencies
Owners Filled
Steward
Nobody owns an asteroid; space law bars national appropriation of celestial bodies.
Master systems
- Minor planet records of the astronomical community
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q1022867 - registry parent class
- Q193275 - registry parent class
related
- astronomical object - small body
- star - the Sun
- comet - comets have comae
- planetary defence - impact risk
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.asteroid
- Wikidata: Q3863 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3863)
- MPC number and name: number plus name numbered minor planets
- provisional designation: year plus letters new discoveries
Direct properties required Filled
- diameter: metres to 940 km - Ceres, now a dwarf planet, is largest
- known objects: over 1.4 million objects
Recognition required Filled
- Motion against background stars
- Designations such as 433 Eros or 2024 YR4
- No coma or tail, unlike comets
- Points of light moving against the stars in telescopes; up close, irregular cratered bodies or rubble piles.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- discover and designate it, through the Minor Planet Center
- track its orbit
- assess impact risk
- explore it, with spacecraft and sample returns
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Impacts, rare but potentially severe
- Alarmist reporting of low-probability risks
- Confusing provisional and permanent designations
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- IAU and Minor Planet Center naming rules
- Torino and Palermo impact hazard scales
- Outer Space Treaty on resource use
Context of use required Filled
- Asteroids record the early Solar System, pose impact risks and are targets for exploration.
- main-belt asteroids
- near-Earth asteroids: Atira, Aten, Apollo, Amor
- trojans of various planets
- by composition: C-type, S-type, M-type
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q3863: asteroid - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Asteroid - general description of the item
Open questions
- Should asteroids be instances with MPC designations?
- How should impact risk be communicated?
- How should resource claims be represented?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q3863/spec.json