Even small asteroids lead complex lives. During its flyby of the asteroid Donaldjohanson last year, NASA’s Lucy spacecraft revealed the asteroid to be a wobbly, peanut-shaped body that has undergone a lot of activity in its relatively short history. Formed as fragments coalesced after a violent collision 155 million years ago, the asteroid was transformed by the […]
The asteroid impact that triggered the extinction of the dinosaurs may also have created one of Earth’s most enduring habitats for life.
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NASA’s Psyche spacecraft completed its close approach of Mars on May 15, coming within 2,864 miles (4,609 kilometers) of the planet’s surface. This flyby used a gravity assist from Mars to provide a critical boost in speed and to adjust the spacecraft’s orbital plane without using any onboard propellant, sending it on its way toward […]
The livestream will begin at 3:45 p.m. EDT on May 18, bringing near real time views of the asteroid from robotic telescopes in Italy, weather permitting.
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Dante’s description of the fall of Lucifer to Earth from heaven seems to sport many of the hallmarks of an impact, forming a multi-ringed crater with a central peak.
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Samples of Ryugu returned to Earth by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft show that the asteroid bears the scars of a recent bombardment by tiny space rocks.
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A rare stargazing spectacle will unfold on Friday, April 13, 2029, as the asteroid Apophis passes closer than satellites over Europe and Africa in a true once-in-a-lifetime event.
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The asteroid is on the European Space Agency’s Risk List, but poses no threat to Earth or the moon during the close approach.
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This offers us a glimpse of the discovery surge scientists expect to occur once full operations begin.
Europe’s Hera spacecraft has completed a major deep-space maneuver, setting it on course to rendezvous late this year with the asteroid system targeted by NASA’s DART mission back in 2022.
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