ADAM::Precovery
The ADAM Precovery Service is a hosted version of our open source precovery tool backed by multiple catalogs.
You can try the ADAM::Precovery service here. To use it on a larger scale or for programmatic API access please send us an email.
Please credit Asteroid Institute, ADAM::Precovery b612.ai when using results from Precovery and any additional ADAM services.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is this?
- How do I use this form?
- What datasets are included in the search?
- Will I be able to see an image of the observations recovered?
- What kind of objects does precovery work on?
- Can I run more than one orbit at once?
What is this?
ADAM::Precovery is a tool designed by the Asteroid Institute to search for precovery observations of moving objects in archival data. This tool is a hosted version of our open source precovery library prepared with multiple large datasets and hosted on Google Cloud.
How do I use this form?
See a short video guide below!

What datasets are included in the search?
The ADAM::Precovery database includes data from the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF), NoirLab Source Catalog Data Release 2 (NSC DR2), and ATLAS. ZTF runs from 2018 to present. Data is ingested from the ZTF alert stream on a monthly basis. NSC DR2 runs from 2012 to 2019. ATLAS runs from 2015 to present. Additional datasets (including Pan-STARRS, LSST, and CSS) are in the queue for integration.
Will I be able to see an image of the observations recovered?
If available in the corresponding dataset, a cutout of the detection will be shown with the results. The crosshair at the center of the cutout indicates the expected position of the object. The detection is indicated with a green circle. Please note that if the distance between the expected location and the detection is more than several arcseconds, it may not appear on the cutout. The expected direction of movement and the length of streak is indicated with a blue arrow.
What kind of objects does precovery work on?
Any moving object that can be seen by a telescope may have observations found using precovery. This includes asteroids, comets, and even spacecraft. Not every object will return observations, however, as this depends on whether it was seen by the telescopes included in our datasets.
Can I run more than one orbit at once?
Yes (but not here)! This website is a demonstration and can only be run with one orbit at a time. However, the ADAM platform is able to handle bulk jobs of many thousands of orbits. If you have a large number of orbits you would like to run through ADAM::Precovery, please contact us at adam@b612foundation.org.