SkyShield (WMPGang)

Problem

Asteroid-risk tools focus on large near-Earth objects, while the steady flux of small meteoroids from streams and the sporadic complex is a constant, overlooked threat to satellites.

Solution

A JavaScript/Three.js web orrery that computes orbits from orbital elements at their epoch: planets, dwarf planets, 1,669 NEOs from the ESA risk list, 107 meteoroid streams and the sporadic meteoroid complex. Streams light up only when active near Earth; NEOs filter by orbit, size and Palermo impact rating; time runs live, faster or backwards.

Demo moment

Not described in the sources.

Why it stood out

• organizer statedWon the award for the best and most valid use of science.Source ↗
• organizer statedIdentifies satellite risk zones using real-time data on near-Earth objects and meteor streams.Source ↗
• team statedThe team comes from a university meteor physics group and adds the meteoroid threat that NEO tools overlook.Source ↗
• team statedPositions are computed from physical orbital elements at each object's epoch, so objects appear where they truly are at the chosen time.Source ↗
• curator inferenceDomain experts answering a visualization challenge with a physically correct model is what the science award rewards: the orrery is accurate, not just pretty.

Lessons for your next hackathon

• Bring real domain expertise to a visualization challenge and let accuracy be the differentiator.
• Add the hazard everyone ignores (meteoroids next to asteroids) to make a standard brief your own.
• AI was used only for code snippets and debugging, and the disclosure says so.