Hubble Space Telescope observations of the dwarf planet Ceres have discovered the first evidence of sulfur, sulfur dioxide and graphitized carbon found on an asteroid. The sulfur species are likely associated with regions ...
Space Exploration
Sep 2, 2016
0
857
Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt, and NASA's Dawn spacecraft will arrive at this dwarf planet on March 6, 2015.
Space Exploration
Feb 26, 2015
10
137
Mention the word "asteroid" and you'll probably think about the downfall of the dinosaurs, or perhaps Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck duking it out in the movie "Armageddon."
Space Exploration
Mar 3, 2017
2
892
Previously, the Kepler space telescope looked straight out from the solar system in a direction almost perpendicular to the ecliptic and the plane of the planets. This way, it could observe the same spot all year long, as ...
Astronomy
Oct 24, 2016
0
539
The near-Earth object was thought to pose a slight risk of impacting Earth in 2068, but now radar observations have ruled that out.
Space Exploration
Mar 26, 2021
12
1254
A research team led by Osaka University investigated the formation ages of 59 lunar craters with a diameter of approximately 20 km using the Terrain Camera (TC) onboard the lunar orbiter spacecraft Kaguya.
Space Exploration
Jul 21, 2020
10
879
NASA's Dawn spacecraft gave scientists extraordinary close-up views of the dwarf planet Ceres, which lies in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. By the time the mission ended in October 2018, the orbiter had ...
Astronomy
Aug 11, 2020
1
361
Sodium chloride, better known as table salt, isn't exactly the type of mineral that captures the imagination of scientists. However, a smattering of tiny salt crystals discovered in a sample from an asteroid has researchers ...
Planetary Sciences
Jun 13, 2023
0
519
New 2-D and 3-D computer modeling of impacts on the asteroid Psyche, the largest Main Belt asteroid, indicate it is probably metallic and porous in composition, something like a flying cosmic rubble pile. Knowing this will ...
Space Exploration
Aug 11, 2020
7
348
The solar system is crowded with small objects like asteroids and comets. Most have stable orbits which keep them out of harm's way, but a small proportion of them are in orbits that risk them colliding with planets.
Astronomy
Sep 14, 2013
3
0
