Asteroids

Latest about Asteroids

A box-shaped spacecraft with large solar wings swoops in toward a metal-looking asteroid in space.

Is asteroid Psyche actually a planetary core? James Webb Space Telescope results cast doubt

By Keith Cooper published

The presence of hydrated minerals, including possibly water-ice, might indicate an unexpected origin for Psyche, far from the sun.

Asteroids
This high-resolution view of the asteroid Dimorphos was created by combining the final 10 full-frame images obtained by the NASA DART probe's Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation (DRACO) and layering the higher-resolution images on top of the lower-resolution ones. Dimorphos is oriented so that its north pole is toward the top of the image.

Weird, 'watermelon shape' asteroids like Dimorphos and Selam may finally have an explanation

By Abha Jain published

New research finds why some asteroids have weird, watermelon-shaped moons trapped in orbit around them, contrary to what typical asteroid formation theories predict.

Asteroids
The orbits of 156 823 asteroids seen by Gaia and released as part of its DR3 release

Over 350 asteroids have hidden moons, Gaia space telescope finds

By Robert Lea published

By precisely tracking the orbit of over 156,000 asteroids, the ESA star-surveying satellite Gaia has potentially found over 350 previously undiscovered asteroid-moon binaries.

Asteroids
A small grey oval to the left of a larger rugged grey oval

NASA's DART asteroid impact mission revealed ages of twin space rock targets (images)

By Robert Lea published

Scientists have analyzed images of the twin asteroids Didymos and Dimorphous taken by NASA's DART mission before it impacted the smaller space rock, revealing their age and origins.

Asteroids
Earth is in the center of this image surrounded by tons of blue dots in a relatively disk-like shape that represent satellites. Toward the right of the screen, a dot is traced with a yellow line as it just barely enters the satellite disk while flying past Earth.

Asteroid Apophis will visit Earth in 2029, and this European satellite will be along for the ride

By Keith Cooper published

As Apophis passes closer to Earth than geosynchronous satellites in April 2029, the asteroid will hopefully be tracked by a new ESA mission called Ramses.

Asteroids
A blue, white and green sphere next to an irregular grey orb followed by a white plume. The background is black and dark blue

China plans to deflect an asteroid by 2030 to showcase Earth protection skills

By Robert Lea published

China aims to launch its first planetary defense mission by 2030, to showcase the skills needed to nudge a dangerous asteroid away from Earth.

Asteroids
a rendered image of a man standing on the rocky grey surface of an asteroid, a space probe hovers in the distance behind him against a starry sky of space.

Jumping on an asteroid: How VR is being used to visit worlds we can never reach

By Jackson Ryan published

At the 2024 Astronomical Society of Australia's Annual Scientific Meeting, I got to walk on an asteroid in virtual reality. Here's what I found in Ryugu World.

Asteroids
a grainy image of the same space rocket shown from many different angles, presented in three rows of seven images, all against black space

2 asteroids just zipped by Earth, and NASA caught footage of the action

By Victoria Corless published

NASA's Goldstone Solar System Radar has collected invaluable information about two asteroids that flew very close to Earth. Don't worry, neither posed a threat.

Asteroids
The Earth, moon and an asteroid's trajectories are seen in this gif.

It's International Asteroid Day, and astronomers have much to celebrate

By Sharmila Kuthunur published

"It's a fun day."

Asteroids
Two pieces of rocky material are seen with blueish areas highlighted.

Phosphate in NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample suggests space rock Bennu hails from an ocean world

By Victoria Corless published

NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission brought pieces of space rock Bennu to Earth in 2023. An analysis of these samples has revealed interesting data.

Asteroids
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