News tagged with main asteroid belt

Related topics: nasa , asteroid , solar system

Asteroid collision that spawned Vesta's asteroid family occurred more recently than thought

A team of researchers led by a NASA Lunar Science Institute (NLSI) member based at Southwest Research Institute has discovered evidence that the giant impact crater Rheasilvia on Asteroid (4) Vesta was created ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created May 10, 2012 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (4) | comments 6 | with audio podcast

Dawn gets extra time to explore Vesta

(Phys.org) -- NASA's Dawn mission has received official confirmation that 40 extra days have been added to its exploration of the giant asteroid Vesta, the second most massive object in the main asteroid belt. ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Apr 19, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 6 | with audio podcast

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

Image: Asteroid caught marching across Tadpole Nebula

(PhysOrg.com) -- This infrared image from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, showcases the Tadpole Nebula, a star-forming hub in the Auriga constellation about 12,000 light-years from Earth. ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Sep 28, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | 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

Dawn spacecraft begins science orbits of Vesta

NASA's Dawn spacecraft, the first ever to orbit an object in the main asteroid belt, is spiraling towards its first of four intensive science orbits. That initial orbit of the rocky world Vesta begins Aug. ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Aug 02, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 6 | with audio podcast

Dawn spacecraft returns close-up image of asteroid Vesta

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Dawn spacecraft has returned the first close-up image after beginning its orbit around the giant asteroid Vesta. On Friday, July 15, Dawn became the first probe to enter orbit around ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Jul 19, 2011 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (9) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

NASA's Dawn Spacecraft Enters Orbit Around Asteroid Vesta

NASA's Dawn spacecraft on Saturday became the first probe ever to enter orbit around an object in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Jul 17, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (10) | comments 11 | with audio podcast

NASA spacecraft to enter asteroid's orbit today

Today, NASA's Dawn spacecraft will begin a prolonged encounter with the asteroid Vesta, making the mission the first to enter orbit around a main-belt asteroid.

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Jul 15, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 1

Dawn nears start of year-long stay at giant asteroid

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Dawn spacecraft is on track to begin the first extended visit to a large asteroid. The mission expects to go into orbit around Vesta on July 16 and begin gathering science data in early ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Jun 24, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Dawn spacecraft captures video of asteroid approach (w/ video)

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists working with NASA's Dawn spacecraft have created a new video showing the giant asteroid Vesta as the spacecraft approaches this unexplored world in the main asteroid belt.

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Jun 13, 2011 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (8) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Swift and Hubble probe an asteroid crash (w/ video)

(PhysOrg.com) -- Late last year, astronomers noticed an asteroid named Scheila had unexpectedly brightened, and it was sporting short-lived plumes. Data from NASA's Swift satellite and Hubble Space Telescope ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Apr 28, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 10 | with audio podcast

When is an asteroid not an asteroid?

(PhysOrg.com) -- On March 29, 1807, German astronomer Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers spotted Vesta as a pinprick of light in the sky. Two hundred and four years later, as NASA's Dawn spacecraft prepares to begin ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Mar 30, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (10) | comments 4 | with audio podcast

NASA's NEOWISE completes scan for asteroids and comets

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's NEOWISE mission has completed its survey of small bodies, asteroids and comets, in our solar system. The mission's discoveries of previously unknown objects include 20 comets, more ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Feb 01, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 2