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.
Across Earth, every night, thousands of automated stargazers are waiting to take pictures of shooting stars. I am one of the scientists who study these meteors.
Planetary Sciences
Apr 13, 2026
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650
The successful Artemis II trip around the moon was a historic achievement—the first crewed lunar fly-by in more than 50 years, and the greatest distance yet traveled by humans from our "pale blue dot."
Space Exploration
Apr 13, 2026
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72
Japan's space agency, JAXA, has been knocking it out of the park with small-body exploration missions for decades. They had historic successes with both Hayabusa and Hayabusa2, and they are going to visit the Martian moons ...
Space Exploration
Apr 12, 2026
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44
Observations conducted with the Subaru Telescope and its first-generation wide-field camera, Suprime-Cam, have revealed new insights into the relationship between the color and size of Jupiter Trojan asteroids.
Astronomy
Apr 10, 2026
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60
A team of US astronomers has carried out one of the deepest analyses to date of a sample from the asteroid Bennu, revealing new details about how water and organic material interacted during the earliest stages of the solar ...
Using preliminary data from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, scientists have discovered over 11,000 new asteroids. The data were confirmed by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center (MPC), making this the ...
Planetary Sciences
Apr 2, 2026
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96
In September 2022, humanity crashed a spacecraft into an asteroid—on purpose. The objective of NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) was to see if we could intentionally modify the orbit of Dimorphos, the small moonlet ...
Space Exploration
Mar 30, 2026
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51
When we think of asteroids, we almost immediately think of giant rocks bouncing around like the iconic chase scene in "The Empire Strikes Back," and we often hear how they are remnants from the birth of the solar system. ...
Planetary Sciences
Mar 28, 2026
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90
A new study reveals all five fundamental nucleobases—the molecular "letters" of life—have been detected in samples from the asteroid Ryugu.
Astrobiology
Mar 22, 2026
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239
The European Space Agency's (ESA's) Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) probe is on its (very long) way to Jupiter, and will finally arrive at the King of Planets in 2031. Its primary mission is to focus on the "big three" ...
Planetary Sciences
Mar 19, 2026
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