For the coders: NASA's Asteroid Data Hunter Challenge

[Streetwind]

http://www.topcoder.com/asteroids/asteroiddatahunter/

NASA and Planetary Resources Inc. are looking to crowdsource asteroid detection algorithms that allow computers to perform the extremely tedious task of sifting through millions of haystacks for single needles, which currently has to be done by hand to achieve any sort of precision. The contest starts today and runs until the end of summer. It is broken down into several individual phases with monetary prizes. A grand total of $35,000 is up for grabs across the entire contest.

And then, of course, there's the bragging rights that something you coded might one day end up processing data for NASA