asteroids

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NASA Has Successfully Nudged an Asteroid
NASA Did a Number
On the Asteroid It Hit
UPDATED
Mar 20, 2024 9:55 AM CDT

NASA Did a Number On the Asteroid It Hit

Dimorphos' shape was changed, in addition to its orbit time, a new study finds

(Newser) - It's safe to say NASA's test of whether an asteroid could be nudged off a collision path with Earth was a success. The DART spacecraft's impact with the asteroid Dimorphos not only shaved 33 minutes and 15 seconds off the time it takes to circle its parent...

NASA Hits the Jackpot on Its 'Rubble Return Goal'

OSIRIS-REx spacecraft returned double the expected samples from asteroid Bennu

(Newser) - NASA finally has counted up all the asteroid samples returned by a spacecraft last fall—and it's double the rubble return goal. Officials reported Thursday that the Osiris-Rex spacecraft collected 4.29 ounces of dust and pebbles from asteroid Bennu. That's just over half a cup and the...

Asteroid Size of Empire State Building Is About to Fly By Earth

2008 OS7 will come within 1.7M miles of our planet on Friday, though experts assure that it won't hit us

(Newser) - An asteroid as big as a skyscraper will pass within 1.7 million miles of Earth on Friday. But it's not on a collision course with us, as it will pass seven times the distance from Earth to the moon, per the AP . NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object...

NASA Finally Unlocks Its Asteroid Sample
OSIRIS-REx Reveals
a 'Treasure Trove'
Jan 24, 2024 12:51 PM CST

OSIRIS-REx Reveals a 'Treasure Trove'

NASA finally unlocks long-sought asteroid sample, with some decent-sized rocks

(Newser) - After months of painstaking effort, the last two screws have finally been removed from the end of OSIRIS-REx's articulated arm, which grabbed a sample of the near-Earth asteroid Bennu as part of a $1 billion NASA mission, allowing scientists to look inside. They found a "treasure trove of...

NASA's Surprise Find: This Asteroid's 'Dinky Sidekick'

Lucy spacecraft discovers 'mini moon' during flyby of Dinkinesh space hunk

(Newser) - The little asteroid visited by NASA's Lucy spacecraft this week had a big surprise for scientists. It turns out that the asteroid Dinkinesh has a dinky sidekick—a mini moon. The discovery was made during Wednesday's flyby of Dinkinesh, 300 million miles away in the main asteroid belt...

First to Suffer From Asteroid That Doomed Dinos: Plants

Dust particles in atmosphere shut down photosynthesis for 2 years: researchers

(Newser) - It wasn't so much the asteroid impact that killed 75% of the species on Earth some 66 million years ago, but the fact that, for the following two years, little, if anything, could grow. That's according to research offering the first in-depth study of dust particles thrown into...

NASA Capsule Delivers First Asteroid Samples

Rubble was collected from Bennu in deep space

(Newser) - NASA's first asteroid samples fetched from deep space parachuted into the Utah desert Sunday morning to cap a seven-year, $1 billion journey. In a flyby of Earth, the Osiris-Rex spacecraft released the sample capsule from 63,000 miles out. The small capsule landed four hours later on a remote...

Chunk of Asteroid That Could Take Chunk Out of Earth Nears

OSIRIS-REx's sample from near-Earth asteroid Bennu to arrive in Utah on Sunday

(Newser) - There's a 1 in 2,700 chance that an asteroid known for its close flybys of Earth could smack into the planet in the next 160 years or so, which isn't very reassuring. NASA hopes, however, that the upcoming conclusion of a seven-year mission to retrieve samples from...

Asteroid Has a Small Chance of Hitting Earth on Feb. 14, 2046

NASA says DB 2023 isn't 'particularly concerning'

(Newser) - There's a very small but real chance that a space rock could ruin a lot of romantic evenings 23 years from now, according to NASA's Planetary Defense Office. The newly discovered asteroid, DB 2023, has a 1 in 560 chance of hitting Earth on Valentine's Day 2046,...

Asteroid Was Correctly Forecast, Only the 7th Time Ever

ESA gave people a heads-up, and UK sky watchers got a treat

(Newser) - The European Space Agency dashed off what turned out to be a pretty impressive prediction—and people who live near the English Channel and paid attention were rewarded in the wee hours of Monday. That's when a small asteroid streaked through the sky and put on a light show...

THOR Might Save Us All One Day
THOR Might Save
Us All One Day
Jun 5, 2022 6:00 PM CDT

THOR Might Save Us All One Day

The asteroid-hunting algorithm, not the superhero

(Newser) - Ed Lu is a former NASA astronaut with a PhD in applied physics, and he is worried about near-Earth asteroids—space rocks at least 460 feet in diameter that have been nudged by gravity into Earth’s neighborhood. According to the New York Times , only 40% of the estimated 25,...

Scientist: This Dinosaur Died on the Day of Asteroid Strike

Leg was among many finds at North Dakota site that preserved the 'death blow'

(Newser) - The asteroid that hit the Earth around 66 million years ago brought an abrupt end to the Cretaceous period—and to the life of a Thescelosaurus dinosaur whose incredibly well-preserved leg was found at a North Dakota site. Researchers say they can pinpoint the day of the dinosaur's death...

Hey Dimorphos, NASA Is Coming for You
NASA Rocket
Is Now On
Its Way to
Dimorphos
UPDATED
Nov 24, 2021 6:32 AM CST

NASA Rocket Is Now On Its Way to Dimorphos

Spacecraft has launched on mission to slam into asteroid, knock it off course

(Newser) - Update: NASA's experiment to have a spacecraft smash into an asteroid is underway, but we won't know if it's successful for about a year. The Guardian reports that the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, part of the agency's DART mission to slam into the Dimorphos space rock,...

Small Space Traveler May Be a First
Small Space
Traveler
May Be
a First
in case you missed it
Nov 20, 2021 7:00 AM CST

Small Space Traveler May Be a First

Rock the size of a Ferris wheel appears to be a long-lost piece of the moon in orbit around sun

(Newser) - It's not the first asteroid near Earth to show up in astronomers' telescopes, but this one appears to have a rare distinction. The rock dubbed with the Hawaiian name Kamo`oalewa seems to have come not from deep space, but from our own moon, reports the Guardian . Assuming the theory...

NASA's Lucy Is Now in the Sky, With Diamonds

Spacecraft is on 12-year mission to explore Jupiter's Trojan asteroids

(Newser) - A NASA spacecraft named Lucy rocketed into the sky with diamonds Saturday on a 12-year quest to explore eight asteroids. Seven of the mysterious space rocks are among swarms of asteroids sharing Jupiter's orbit, thought to be the pristine leftovers of planetary formation. An Atlas V rocket blasted off...

12-Year Asteroid Mission Begins This Weekend

NASA launches 'Lucy' toward Jupiter

(Newser) - Attention asteroid aficionados: NASA is set to launch a series of spacecraft to visit and even bash some of the solar system’s most enticing space rocks. A robotic trailblazer named Lucy is up first, blasting off this weekend on a 12-year cruise to swarms of asteroids near Jupiter—unexplored...

Astronomers Have New Tool in Hunt for Asteroids

New telescope part of initiative by European Southern Observatory to track dangerous ones

(Newser) - Scientists said Tuesday they've switched on a new telescope at the European Southern Observatory as part of an effort to create an automated network for spotting asteroids that might pose a risk to Earth, per the AP . The 22-inch TBT2 telescope that's now seen "first light" at...

Asteroid's Odds of Hitting Earth Just Improved

Though they're still slim for the year 2068

(Newser) - In nine years, a big asteroid will come close enough to Earth that it will be visible with the naked eye. In 2036, Apophis will make a return trip, and Earthlings will again be safe. The year 2068, however, might be a different story. Scientists just made some new calculations...

NASA Expert: That Asteroid? I Don't Think It's an Asteroid

Paul Chodas looks closely at that thing headed our way

(Newser) - The jig may be up for an "asteroid" that's expected to get nabbed by Earth's gravity and become a mini moon next month, the AP reports. Instead of a cosmic rock, the newly discovered object appears to be an old rocket from a failed moon-landing mission 54...

Historic Asteroid First Was 'Better Than Perfect'

Japan's Hayabusa2 collected underground samples

(Newser) - Japan's space agency says data transmitted from the Hayabusa2 spacecraft indicated it successfully landed on a distant asteroid Thursday and completed its historic mission of collecting underground samples that scientists hope will provide clues to the origin of the solar system. Hayabusa2 had created itself a landing crater in...

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