Search results for asteroid belt

Space Exploration Dec 11, 2018

Geminids meteor shower: An astrophysicist on what to look out for

The Geminids meteor shower peaks on the mornings of December 13 and 14, 2018 – but if you look up any time there's a clear night sky up until December 17, you might just catch a glimpse of a Geminid meteor.

Space Exploration Dec 10, 2018

Team finds evidence for carbon-rich surface on Ceres

A team led by Southwest Research Institute has concluded that the surface of dwarf planet Ceres is rich in organic matter. Data from NASA's Dawn spacecraft indicate that Ceres's surface may contain several times the concentration ...

Space Exploration Dec 7, 2018

Planetary defense: The Bennu experiment

On Dec. 3, after traveling billions of kilometers from Earth, NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft reached its target, Bennu, and kicked off a nearly two-year, up-close investigation of the asteroid. It will inspect nearly every ...

Space Exploration Dec 3, 2018

Charting a course for astronaut safety as NASA launches to the Moon and to Mars

In the next decade, NASA aims to launch humankind toward the moon and on to Mars—a monumental step in crewed space travel. Such a journey is filled with challenges and perils, not unlike those faced by the first explorers ...

Space Exploration Nov 22, 2018

NASA's Lucy in the sky with … asteroids?

A little over 4 billion years ago, the planets in our solar system coexisted with vast numbers of small rocky or icy objects orbiting the Sun. These were the last remnants of the planetesimals – the primitive building blocks ...

Space Exploration Nov 21, 2018

Geosciences researchers will use data from new NASA lander to learn about Mars interior, core

When NASA's new InSight lander touches down on Mars on Nov. 26 to begin new explorations of the Red Planet's interior structure, Virginia Tech's Scott King will be anxiously awaiting the first feedback of data.

Space Exploration Nov 14, 2018

Catching asteroid 3 Juno at its best

Not all oppositions are created equal. This week's sky target offers a good case in point, as asteroid 3 Juno reaches its most favorable viewing position for the decade.

Space Exploration Nov 12, 2018

Aboard the first spacecraft to the trojan asteroids—NASA Ralph's next adventure

Ralph, one of NASA's most well-traveled space explorers, has voyaged far and accomplished much: on the New Horizons mission, Ralph obtained stunning flyby images of Jupiter and its moons; this was followed by a visit to Pluto ...

Space Exploration Nov 8, 2018

Cosmic detective work: Why we care about space rocks

The entire history of human existence is a tiny blip in our solar system's 4.5-billion-year history. No one was around to see planets forming and undergoing dramatic changes before settling in their present configuration. ...

Space Exploration Nov 1, 2018

Dawn mission to asteroid belt comes to end

NASA's Dawn spacecraft has gone silent, ending a historic mission that studied time capsules from the solar system's earliest chapter.

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