News tagged with asteroid surfaces

Dawn spacecraft reveals secrets of giant asteroid Vesta

(Phys.org) -- Findings from NASA's Dawn spacecraft reveal new details about the giant asteroid Vesta, including its varied surface composition, sharp temperature changes and clues to its internal structure. ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Apr 26, 2012 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (7) | comments 4 | with audio podcast

Dawn sees new surface features on giant asteroid

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Dawn spacecraft has revealed unexpected details on the surface of the giant asteroid Vesta. New images and data highlight the diversity of Vesta's surface and reveal unusual geologic ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Mar 21, 2012 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (9) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Dawn sends first low altitude images of Vesta

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Dawn spacecraft has sent back the first images of the giant asteroid Vesta from its low-altitude mapping orbit. The images, obtained by the framing camera, show the stippled and lumpy ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Dec 21, 2011 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (10) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Swift observatory catches asteroid flyby (w/ video)

(PhysOrg.com) -- As asteroid 2005 YU55 swept past Earth in the early morning hours of Wednesday, Nov. 9, telescopes aboard NASA's Swift satellite joined professional and amateur astronomers around the globe in monitoring ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Nov 11, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 3

NASA's Dawn science team presents early science results

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists with NASA's Dawn mission are sharing with other scientists and the public their early information about the southern hemisphere of the giant asteroid Vesta. The findings were presented ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Oct 13, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

NASA's Dawn collects a bounty of beauty from Vesta

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new video from NASA's Dawn spacecraft takes us on a flyover journey above the surface of the giant asteroid Vesta.

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Sep 16, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 26 | with audio podcast

Habitable zones

(PhysOrg.com) -- The "habitable zone" is the region around a star where a suitable planet could sustain the conditions necessary for life. Most astronomers take it to be the region where the balance between ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Aug 22, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (5) | comments 20 | with audio podcast

The faces of Vesta (w/ video)

(PhysOrg.com) -- New images of the asteroid show the first surface structures and give a preview of the Dawn mission's coming months.

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Jun 24, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (6) | comments 1

Image: Apollo 16: Footsteps Under High Sun

(PhysOrg.com) -- The lunar module Orion landed in the Descartes Highlands of the moon on April 21, 1972. The Apollo 16 mission targeted a highland region. Originally thought to be a volcanic site, the samples ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Jul 08, 2010 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (8) | comments 0

Biggest, Deepest Crater Exposes Hidden, Ancient Moon

(PhysOrg.com) -- Shortly after the Moon formed, an asteroid smacked into its southern hemisphere and gouged out a truly enormous crater, the South Pole-Aitken basin, almost 1,500 miles across and more than ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Mar 04, 2010 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (10) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Solar wind tans young asteroids

A new study published in Nature this week reveals that asteroid surfaces age and redden much faster than previously thought -- in less than a million years, the blink of an eye for an asteroid. This study ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Apr 22, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (4) | comments 1