NASA's Psyche captures images of Earth and moon
Headed for a metal-rich asteroid of the same name, the Psyche spacecraft successfully calibrated its cameras by looking homeward.
Astronomy
Aug 19, 2025
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Page 8: Research news on Asteroids
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.
Spectral analysis suggests asteroids Bennu and Ryugu are part of Polana family
A Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) review of data collected from near-Earth asteroids Bennu and Ryugu supports the hypothesis that they were originally part of the Polana collisional family in the main asteroid belt between ...
Planetary Sciences
Aug 18, 2025
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Lucy spacecraft could visit an additional sub-km asteroid with a course correction
The Lucy spacecraft is already well on its way to Jupiter's Trojan asteroids. But that doesn't mean that it can't make some improvements to its trajectory along the way. A new paper suggests it might be possible to nudge ...
Space Exploration
Aug 11, 2025
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Is mining asteroids that impacted the moon easier than mining asteroids themselves?
The resources tucked away in asteroids promise to provide the building blocks of humanity's expansion into space. However, accessing those resources can prove tricky. There's the engineering challenge of landing a spacecraft ...
Space Exploration
Aug 11, 2025
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Lifetime odds of dying from asteroid impact contextualized in study
Most people are aware that an asteroid wiped out much of life on Earth around 65 million years ago, and this knowledge contributes to that chill of fear that many people experience, at least occasionally, that something like ...
First asteroid sightings push Hera's camera to the limit
ESA's Hera mission has captured images of asteroids (1126) Otero and (18805) Kellyday. Though distant and faint, the early observations serve as both a successful instrument test and a demonstration of agile spacecraft operations ...
Astronomy
Aug 7, 2025
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Feasibility of chasing 58 km/s interstellar visitor examined by researchers
Since 2017, three interstellar objects have been spotted passing through our solar system: 1I/ʻOumuamua, 2I/Borisov… and just this month, 3I/ATLAS. Discovered on July 1 by the Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert Survey, ...
Planetary Sciences
Aug 4, 2025
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Heliostats could be used to detect asteroids, says researcher
Sandia scientist John Sandusky believes he has found a way to put heliostats, which typically turn solar energy into electricity, to work in the dark.
Space Exploration
Jul 24, 2025
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107
Rare distant object 2020 VN40 found in perfect sync with Neptune
A team of astronomers led by the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian has discovered a rare object far beyond Neptune, from a class known as trans-Neptunian objects, that is moving in rhythm with the giant planet. ...
Planetary Sciences
Jul 15, 2025
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501
Massive boulders ejected during DART mission may complicate future asteroid deflection efforts
When NASA's DART spacecraft slammed into the asteroid moon Dimorphos in September 2022, it didn't just change the asteroid's orbit as intended—it unleashed a massive barrage of boulders that carried more than three times ...
Planetary Sciences
Jul 8, 2025
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