Public node blueprint: this page describes a safe, low-cost Asteroid Watch Network observing node. It is an educational deployment plan, not an official alerting authority or emergency-warning system.
distributed sky-watch node

Asteroid Watch Network Node Blueprint

A practical blueprint for a small observatory, school, or citizen-science site to contribute structured sky-watch observations to the TESS Planetary Defense Foundation mission.

Node type
Small observatory
Backyard / school / club
Primary role
Follow-up
Known target imaging
Data path
Sanitized logs
No secrets public
Status
Blueprint
Deployment guide
Node topology HUDAWN edge station

Node Hardware Blueprint

Minimum viable node components for safe educational asteroid/comet follow-up. Exact telescope and camera models can vary by budget.

Telescope + MountCore

Tracking mount, stable tripod/pier, and repeatable alignment for known close-approach targets.

Imaging CameraCore

Planetary or deep-sky camera capable of timestamped frames and basic calibration workflow.

Raspberry Pi Sensor HubSafety

Weather, power, and equipment heartbeat data for safe-to-observe gating.

Time SyncData

NTP or GPS-assisted timestamps so observations can be correlated with ephemeris predictions.

Local StorageCore

Session folders for raw frames, calibrated images, logs, and redacted public reports.

Network UplinkData

Publishes sanitized node status and observation summaries without exposing private controls.

Node Data Package

  • Session metadata: site label, UTC time range, target name, instrument profile, and weather gate state.
  • Image products: raw frames kept local, calibrated/redacted frames prepared for collaboration.
  • Quality flags: clouds, wind, moonlight, tracking quality, focus, and timestamp confidence.
  • Public output: safe summary card plus links to approved image products and educational notes.
Example public node report:
{
  "node_status": "standby",
  "safe_to_observe": false,
  "target_queue": "available",
  "last_session_utc": null,
  "weather_gate": "pending",
  "public_images": []
}