Asteroid

NASA has tracked an asteroid in its orbit that will pass Earth by a very close margin today, February 15. It was discovered using advanced space telescopes and ground-based observatories in place such as the NEOWISE telescope, Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), Pans-STARRS1, Catalina Sky Survey, the Hubble Space Telescope and the new $1 billion James Webb Space Telescope. Check out the details about this close encounter.Asteroid 2024 CE1: DetailsNASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) has…

Asteroids are ancient space rocks floating in their orbits in space. However, sometimes they come dangerously close to a planet like Earth. This happens due to the interaction with a large planet's gravitational field, which can send the tumbling towards a planet, raising a potential impact scenario. NASA and other space agencies use advanced space and ground-based telescopes to monitor asteroids and minimize the uncertainties around their close approaches. NASA has now shed light on an asteroid that is expected to pass…

Utilizing SOFIA data, researchers have identified water molecules on asteroid surfaces, marking a significant step in understanding water’s distribution and its role in the solar system’s formation and potential for supporting life. Future studies with the James Webb Space Telescope aim to expand this knowledge by examining more celestial bodies. Credit: NASA/Carla Thomas/Southwest Research InstituteThe FORCAST instrument on SOFIA discovered water on asteroids that were previously considered dry.Scientists from the…

A decade ago, the Earth was struck by the Chelyabinsk asteroid over Russia's Ural region. The asteroid exploded above the city and created a shockwave affecting 1500 people and destroying over 7300 buildings. It served to create fear, but more than that, it sent all the space agencies back to the drawing board to prepare contingency plans for such an event that may have far worse consequences. The fear of asteroid strike is always swings there as it had wiped out the dinosaurs from the face of Earth millions of years…

With the help of its advanced technology, NASA has shed light on an asteroid that is expected to pass Earth today, February 13. It is one of the many space rocks that will, and some already have, flown past the planet in recent weeks. While these asteroids can sometimes come even closer to Earth than the Moon, most of them do not pose any threat and pass by relatively safely. Still, the space agencies continue to monitor their orbits for any potential collision scenarios. Know all about the close encounter with the…

NASA scientists are just getting started in their analysis of fragments brought back from the Bennu asteroid, and the early indications are that the material it contains originated from an ancient ocean world.That assumption is based on the phosphate crust detected on the asteroid. The calcium and magnesium-rich phosphate mineral has never been seen before on meteorites – those small space rocks that make it through our atmosphere and down to Earth.The mineral's chemistry bears an eerie resemblance to that found in vapor…

Atmospheric transmission at a wavelength of 500 nm as a function of time after impact. Credit: Science Advances (2024). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adk5489 A research team has picked a side in the "Snowball Earth" debate over the possible cause of planet-wide deep freeze events that occurred in the distant past. According to their new study, these so-called "Snowball" Earth periods, in which the planet's surface was covered in ice for…

NASA defines asteroids as ancient rocky, airless remnants left over from the early formation of our solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. Through various experiments, scientists have known that while asteroids have the potential to cause catastrophic damage if they impact Earth, these objects can also become a resource hub. Space agencies keep a check on the orbits of these space rocks to avoid a potential collision scenario. They have also developed technology to track these space rocks in their orbits, and even…

Scientists are now inspecting snagged, bagged and tagged bits and pieces from asteroid Bennu, the cosmic mother lode delivered by NASA's Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security — Regolith Explorer mission.Known in acronymic astro-speak as OSIRIS-REx, that seven-year-long voyage brought home the goods via a sample return canister that came to full stop on Sept. 24, 2023, parachuting into a remote stretch of the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range. Those specimens from afar…

NASA uses its advanced space and ground-based telescopes such as the NEOWISE telescope, Pans-STARRS1, and Catalina Sky Survey to keep an eye on asteroids that have the potential to threaten Earth. Using this advanced tech, the US Space Agency has shed light on an asteroid that is set to pass Earth at a distance that is even closer than the Moon today, February 8. Know its speed, size, distance of approach, and other details, as per the US Space Agency. Asteroid 2024 CK1: DetailsThe asteroid, given the designation of…