11,000 Asteroids Have Been Found — And 33 Are Near-Earth Objects

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory has discovered about 11,000 asteroids in its first 1.6 years of observations.

Among the discoveries are 33 previously unknown near-Earth asteroids and roughly 380 trans-Neptunian objects.

Rubin’s 3,200-megapixel LSSTCam and 8.4-meter Simonyi Telescope enable rapid, repeated sky imaging for a planned 10-year survey.

All reported objects have been confirmed by the IAU Minor Planet Center and early operations detected 800,000 cosmic changes in one night.

Once fully operational, Rubin is expected to accelerate discoveries and detect thousands of new asteroids weekly.