In the desert of Southern California, there is a wide view of the universe, where space rocks whiz in all directions.
Making sense of that chaos is what Stephens is trying to do. He has been working on a number of projects, including co-authoring a couple of scientific papers on asteroids in Jupiter, and observing an unusual asteroid that appears to be tumbling rather than spinning.
It sounds like a full-time job, but it's just his hobby. A retired accountant, Stephen, 66, is slowly easing into retirement.
He told Mashable that he fell into a bad crowd and got associated with a bunch of professional astronomer.
They live for the thrill of chasing down the rocky rubble left over from the formation of the solar system about 4.5 billion years ago. Most of the ancient debris is too far away to pose a threat. Many join the planetary neighborhood watch because of the slim chance of a crisis.
Bob Stephens, an amateur astronomer in California, helps professionals characterize asteroids as a hobby. Credit: Bob Stephens
In case an asteroid or comet wanders into an area that could endanger civilization, nations are developing warning systems and defense strategies. The DART mission was launched by NASA in November to try to change the trajectory of an asteroid. DART is expected to hit in late September or early October.
Two decades ago NASA invested in professional surveys to monitor most of the sky, which ended the period of amateur discovery of new asteroids. Hundreds of large near-Earth objects are found annually by these surveys. There are two camps of people, those who confirm asteroids detected by professionals and those who answer important questions about them, like how fast they rotation, and what do they look like.
Their efforts play a crucial role in planetary defense because of the limited time at professional observatories. There are 30,000 near-Earth objects that scientists know of. There are some 15,000 giant rocks that are waiting to be discovered.
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Bruce Betts, the chief scientist of The Planetary Society, said that the organization has awarded over $500,000 in grants to non-professional astronomer to update or enhance their equipment. Professionals desperately need asteroid hunters to collect precise measurements over hours, days, and even weeks to predict and determine whether objects could ever hit Earth.
Betts said thatamateurs are missing things if they are taken away.
"If you take [amateurs] away, you're missing things. That's dangerous in this world."
steroid hunters are hard to think of as a hobby. They don't just pull out a telescope from their closet and point it at the sky. Many have built elaborate observatories with high-powered telescopes. They have mounted sophisticated cameras where eyepieces used to be.
That has allowed him to conduct astronomy from home, even though he lives 100 miles away from the Center for Solar System Studies.
Few people in this arena have their eyes fixated on the scope. The pros are not needed on site with automation and remote capabilities.
The Center for Solar System Studies conducts research on asteroids with an observatory of 13 telescopes. Credit: Bob Stephens
Astronomers who sit in domes all night long sometimes reach over and press a button or something, but in reality you are sitting there cruising on Facebook.
"The dirty little secret is astronomers who sit in domes all night long, yeah, occasionally [they] reach over and press a button or something, but in reality, you're sitting there cruising on Facebook."
Gary has a shorter commute to his telescopes. The Sandlot Observatory is located in his backyard. Farpoint Observatory is about 20 or 30 miles away. He and his fellow asteroid hunters have received over 1000 designation from the Minor Planet Center.
Both men put telescopes on hold for love and careers because of their passion for astronomy. Their stories mirror each other in surprising ways.
As kids, both received three-inch telescopes. Both took astronomy classes in college. Both consider viewing the rings of Saturn to be a gateway drug. Both resumed their hobbies in the late 1990s.
His initial interest was more about magnification than about the universe. He was enamored by the sight of a street sign upside down and backwards, from a block away. He became a machinist because of his love for tinkering and learning how things work.
He used those skills to build his own observatory. The telescope is protected by a roll-top roof.
He put a lot of heavy metal into it.
Gary Hug, 71, works on his backyard telescope in the "Sandlot Observatory." Credit: Gary Hug
By necessity, he had to develop some handy skills as well. He used his dad's shop tools to build a telescope when he was a college student. He had a large astronomy club within four years. He mounted the telescope on a trailer and tried to take pictures of the sky.
He said it looked like a cannon, and he was afraid of being pulled over by the cops.
"It looked like a cannon, like an artillery piece. I was always afraid of getting pulled over by the cops."
Both of them say they couldn't become asteroid hunters without their wives. The three children of Hug have less-than-rosy memories of being pulled out of bed in the middle of the night to look at what Dad found.
The main-belt asteroid was discovered in 1998 and is located between Jupiter and Mars. He named it after his wife, Cynthia, which helped ingratiate her to his pastime, although she is often snarked about having a big, fat rock named after her.
He left the dinner table for the laundry room when he retired so he could save the world again. He spends a lot of time looking at what is coming through, guzzling coffee and sleeping.
He told himself he would catch up during the rainy season.
Gary Hug photographed the sky from his backyard in Kansas. Credit: Gary Hug
Sometimes he needs to stay up.
Most asteroids are of no consequence to Earth, but a small percentage of big ones come within 4.5 million miles of the sun. The Statue of Liberty was thought to be at least as big as this one.
He rushed to submit his data to the Minor Planet Center, which beat the Catalina Sky Survey by several hours. He told his wife the news as he crawled into bed, like ships passing in the night.
One of the most exciting moments in his life was when he found the object. He compares the feeling to finding a diamond in a pile of junk.
He said that the main belt asteroids are a dime a dozen.
He often leaves the dinner table for the laundry room, where he's off to save the world again.
A comet, an icy dirtball that formed in the outer solar system, was discovered by Hug and Graham Bell. It is a comet that returns every seven years because of the pull of Jupiter.
Some of the highlights of his asteroid hunts have been the people he met along the way.
Bob Stephens photographs the starry night sky over the Mojave Desert in California. Credit: Bob Stephens
He and Linda French were in Northern Chile in 2010 when they spotted an asteroid that became famous for getting lost. Harlow Shapley named the asteroid after his infant daughter, after it was discovered in 1916.
The asteroid was rediscovered in 1991.
The light curve was done on the asteroid, which plots its brightness as it sails through space. Such an analysis can show whether an asteroid is alone or has something else around it, how fast it is rotating, and whether it is solid or a loose pile of rubble. A paper published on the analysis stated that the asteroid is part of a subgroup of objects.
Mildred, the person, had not gone off the grid.
The person had not gone off the grid like the asteroid did. He sent her a letter with the paper. The parents of the writer and editor of astronomy books had followed in their footsteps.
The nonagenarian wrote a letter back to the man, saying that he was shocked that he had a family.
The two met in person for lunch.
He said that things like that are more fun than the supposed discoveries.
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