Near-Earth objects (NEOs) as a research area encompass the observational, theoretical, and modeling studies of asteroids and comets whose orbits bring them into proximity with Earth, typically with perihelion distances less than 1.3 astronomical units. This field integrates asteroid/comet discovery surveys, orbit determination and dynamical evolution, physical and compositional characterization, impact probability assessment, and planetary defense strategies. Research includes population statistics, source regions and transport mechanisms from main-belt or trans-Neptunian reservoirs, surface and internal structure studies, non-gravitational forces such as the Yarkovsky effect, and development of mitigation techniques for potentially hazardous objects, often using ground-based telescopes, radar, and spacecraft missions.
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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NASA's James Webb Space Telescope recently turned its watchful eye toward asteroid 2024 YR4, which we now know poses no significant threat to Earth in 2032 and beyond.
Planetary Sciences
Apr 2, 2025
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While life on Earth has been dramatic enough lately, there's also been an unusual amount of news from space in the early months of 2025. So far, debris from SpaceX and Blue Origin rockets has landed in locations including ...
Space Exploration
Apr 2, 2025
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Asteroid 2024 YR4, first discovered in December 2024, triggered a first-ever notification from the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) on January 29, 2025. The early calculations predicted an impact probability ...
Planetary Sciences
Apr 2, 2025
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24
The instrument enclosure of NASA's Near-Earth Object Surveyor was prepared for critical environmental tests inside the historic Chamber A at the Space Environment Simulation Laboratory at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston ...
Space Exploration
Mar 27, 2025
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There is a non-zero chance that somewhere in the nearby solar system is a rock that might kill us all.
Space Exploration
Mar 27, 2025
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In late 2024, astronomers spotted asteroid 2024 YR4 on a trajectory that could potentially threaten Earth. This observation triggered a fervid series of observations of the object—possibly as big as a football field—to ...
Astronomy
Mar 24, 2025
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There are many home-grown problems on Earth, but there's still time to worry about bad things arriving from above. The most recent is the asteroid 2024 YR4, which could be a "city killer" if it hits a heavily populated area ...
Astrobiology
Mar 18, 2025
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Barnard's Star is a small, dim star of the type that astronomers call red dwarfs. Consequently, even though it is one of the closest stars to Earth, such that its light takes only six years to get here, it is too faint to ...
Astronomy
Mar 17, 2025
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Last year, astronomers detected the near-earth asteroid (NEA) 2024 YR4, which orbits the sun every four years and periodically crosses Earth's orbit. The nature of its orbit makes it a potentially hazardous object (PHO), ...
Planetary Sciences
Mar 11, 2025
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