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.
Back in the earlier days of the internet, there was a viral video from a creator called Bill Wurtz called "the history of the entire world, i guess" which spawned a number of memorable memes, some of which are still in use ...
Astronomy
Jan 15, 2026
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Physicists at the University of Oxford have contributed to a new study which has found that iron-rich asteroids can tolerate far more energy than previously thought without breaking apart—a breakthrough with direct implications ...
Astronomy
Jan 8, 2026
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Astronomers analyzing data from Vera C. Rubin Observatory have discovered the fastest-ever spinning asteroid with a diameter over half a kilometer—a feat uniquely enabled by Rubin. The study provides crucial information about ...
Astronomy
Jan 7, 2026
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In the aftermath of the giant asteroid that crashed into the Yucatan Peninsula about 66 million years ago, approximately 75% of all species on Earth were wiped out, including the dinosaurs. Among those thought to have perished ...
Much remains to be known about the chemical composition of small asteroids. Their potential to harbor valuable metals, materials from the early solar system, and the possibility of obtaining a geochemical record of their ...
Space Exploration
Dec 10, 2025
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Observations with the instrument SPHERE at ESO's Very Large Telescope have produced an unprecedented gallery of "debris disks" in exoplanetary systems.
Astronomy
Dec 3, 2025
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The asteroid Bennu continues to provide new clues to scientists' biggest questions about the formation of the early solar system and the origins of life. As part of the ongoing study of pristine samples delivered to Earth ...
Astrobiology
Dec 2, 2025
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The number 40,000 might not sound particularly dramatic, but it represents humanity's growing catalog of near-Earth asteroids, rocky remnants from the solar system's violent birth that cross paths with our planet's orbit. ...
Astronomy
Nov 25, 2025
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At this point in history, astronomers and engineers who grew up watching "Deep Impact" and "Armageddon," two movies about the destructive power of asteroid impacts, are likely in relatively high ranking positions at space ...
Planetary Sciences
Nov 17, 2025
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In the distant past, the solar system was rife with impacts and collisions. Millions of rocky objects zoomed chaotically through the system, smashing into each other in collisional cascades. Over time, many of them eventually ...
Astronomy
Oct 22, 2025
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