Published on10 June 2026 · byLe bureau de l'AIA
Six asteroids discovered from Abidjan: looking back at the 2022 campaign
How a team of Ivorian volunteers detected six new asteroids as part of IAU and NASA campaigns.
In 2022, AIA took part for the first time in the International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC) campaigns, a citizen-science programme run with the International Astronomical Union and NASA. The principle: analyse image sets from the Pan-STARRS telescope in Hawaii, looking for points that move.
For weeks, our members took turns in the evening, after classes and work, scanning these images pixel by pixel. The result: six detections confirmed as new — six asteroids nobody had ever catalogued, identified from Abidjan.
The first time a detection came back “provisionally confirmed”, the whole room shouted. We had just touched the sky.
What happens next?
These discoveries now follow the Minor Planet Center’s long orbital confirmation process. Eventually, the team that detected an asteroid may propose its name. A piece of Côte d’Ivoire may one day officially orbit between Mars and Jupiter.
Campaigns continue every year and are open to all our members — no personal telescope needed, just a computer and rigour. Want in? Join us.