The Near Earth Objects Coordinator Centre's (NEOCC) image archive has reached a significant milestone – 1 million images! This vast collection of data will greatly enhance our understanding of near-Earth objects and aid in their precovery and tracking.

A key factor behind this growth is the expansion of the NEOCC’s observational network, which has enabled NEOCC to collaborate with international teams, including those at Schiaparelli Observatory, Tautenburg, 6ROADS telescope network, and other leading research facilities. Their images have already proven invaluable in discovering, precovering or following up known asteroids.

The integration of the NEOCC image archive with the Solar System Object Image Search (SSOIS) system promises to unlock new discoveries in asteroid research. With this enhanced dataset available, scientists can better understand asteroid behaviour, identify potential threats more effectively, and develop strategies for mitigating these risks.

This achievement highlights the importance of planetary defence and asteroid research. The 1 million images now available through NEOCC's Image Archive (that grows as you read this) represent a significant resource for scientists working on this critical area of study.

Caption: Distribution of NEOCC Image Archive collected data per observatory. Credits: ESA / PDO.