Asteroids as a research area encompasses the scientific investigation of small rocky bodies primarily located in the asteroid belt and throughout the Solar System, focusing on their composition, internal structure, dynamical evolution, and role in planetary formation and collisional processes. This field integrates observational astronomy, spectroscopy, celestial mechanics, planetary geology, and space mission data to constrain asteroid taxonomies, surface and subsurface properties, impact hazards, and resource potential. Research addresses accretion and differentiation histories, space weathering, binary and rubble-pile formation, migration mechanisms, and their contribution to the delivery of volatiles and organics to terrestrial planets, providing constraints on early Solar System conditions.
For decades, scientists believed Vesta, one of the largest objects in our solar system's asteroid belt, wasn't just an asteroid and eventually concluded it was more like a planet with a crust, mantle and core. Now, Michigan ...
Astronomy
Apr 28, 2025
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NASA's Lucy spacecraft has beamed back pictures from its latest asteroid flyby, revealing a long, lumpy, odd-shaped space rock.
Planetary Sciences
Apr 21, 2025
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NASA's Lucy spacecraft will swoop past a small asteroid this weekend as it makes its way to an even bigger prize: the unexplored swarms of asteroids out near Jupiter.
Planetary Sciences
Apr 18, 2025
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Much of what scientists know about the early solar system comes from meteorites—ancient rocks that travel through space and survive a fiery plunge through Earth's atmosphere. Among meteorites, one type—called carbonaceous ...
Planetary Sciences
Apr 15, 2025
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38
NASA's Lucy spacecraft is six days and less than 50 million miles (80 million km) away from its second close encounter with an asteroid; this time, the small main belt asteroid Donaldjohanson.
Planetary Sciences
Apr 14, 2025
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An international team of researchers may have answered one of space science's long-running questions—and it could change our understanding of how life began. Carbon-rich asteroids are abundant in space yet make up less than ...
Astrobiology
Apr 14, 2025
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The asteroid 2024 YR4 made headlines in February with the news that it had a chance of hitting Earth on Dec. 22, 2032, as determined by an analysis from NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) at the agency's ...
Astronomy
Apr 11, 2025
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45
The asteroid that once had a small chance of striking Earth and now might slam into the moon resembles a spinning hockey puck, scientists said Tuesday.
Space Exploration
Apr 9, 2025
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100
A huge asteroid that was briefly feared to strike Earth now has a nearly 4% chance of smashing into the moon, according to new data from the James Webb Space Telescope.
Space Exploration
Apr 3, 2025
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1011
The Webb Space Telescope has captured pictures of the asteroid that caused a stir earlier this year when it topped Earth's hit list.
Planetary Sciences
Apr 3, 2025
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