Asteroid

A giant asteroid, estimated to be up to 1.3km in diameter, is heading towards us and will make a close pass by next month. The potentially hazardous asteroid, called 138971 (2001 CB21), will come as close as 4.5 million km. But scientists say there is no need to worry as the asteroid will be about 13 times the average lunar distance at its closest. However, the celestial object will be travelling at a stunning speed of over 26,800 miles per hour. The close encounter will happen on March 4 at about 3:00am ET (1:30pm…

On January 7, space scientists in Europe discovered a large asteroid that appeared to be on a collision course with Earth. They calculated that the 230-feet-wide asteroid, named 2022 AE1, was set to hit Earth on July 4, 2023. The time they had to deflect its path was too narrow to actually mount a response, according to the European Space Agency (ESA). The prospect was frightening. Space defenders feared if the asteroid hit the Earth it would likely wipe out a city, causing destruction similar to what the nuclear bomb…

An asteroid, around 3-metre wide, hit the Earth's atmosphere on March 11, just two hours before it was discovered by a Hungarian astronomer. The object, now designated 2022 EB5, impacted the planet north of Iceland. The 2022 EB5 was only the fifth asteroid to be discovered before it struck the planet. The first four were designated 2014 AA, 2018 LA, 2008 TC3 and 2019 MO.Krisztian Sarneczky, the Hungarian astronomer at the Piszkesteto Mountain Station, which is a part of Konkoly Observatory near Budapest, has discovered…

NASA said a gigantic asteroid is set to make a close approach to Earth this week. Scientists have determined the size of the space rock — called 2013 BO76 — to be around 200-450 metres wide, and it will be travelling at a staggering speed of 50,000kmph. Although NASA has classified the asteroid as “potentially hazardous”, it is expected to fly by Earth at a safe distance. The asteroid — the size of a football stadium — will make its closest approach to Earth early Friday India time, according to NASA.NASA said that at its…

Scientists have found a “stunningly preserved” leg of a dinosaur, and they believe it is the first fossil linked to the catastrophic asteroid event that wiped out the dinosaurs. The remarkable discovery at the Tanis fossil site in the US State of North Dakota is found to have skin still attached to it. Scientists hope this limb could offer insights into what actually happened 66 million years ago when a giant asteroid crashed into Earth and wiped out the dinosaurs from this planet and led to the rise of…

“We’ve been observing Didymos for five years, to understand the state of the system before we change it forever, so we can tell what we did with DART versus what was naturally going to happen,” says Rivkin. “Once we get and interpret the results, we can apply them as needed. Or, hopefully, not needed.” When he’s not working on a potentially life-on-Earth-saving mission, Rivkin studies how that life might have come about in the first place.  “There’s a lot of discussion ongoing that the water and organic materials we…