Related topics: nasa · asteroid · solar system · comet · jupiter

NASA celebrates four decades of plucky Pioneer 11

Forty years ago, on April 5, 1973, a small, ambitious spacecraft launched from Cape Canaveral, heading towards the third-brightest point of light in the night sky. Following in the footsteps of its sister craft, Pioneer 10, ...

Dawn is in silent pursuit of Ceres

In the depths of the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, far from Earth, far even from any human-made object, Dawn remains in silent pursuit of dwarf planet Ceres.

Scientists find Moon, asteroids share history

(Phys.org) —NASA and international researchers have discovered that Earth's moon has more in common than previously thought with large asteroids roaming our solar system.

Simulation of a double impact reveals the heart of an asteroid

Models boost the significance of image and measurement data from space missions and help to understand our solar system. A simulation of a double impact that occurred on the proto-planet Vesta one billion years ago allowed ...

Telescopes find evidence for asteroid belt around Vega

(Phys.org)—Astronomers have discovered what appears to be a large asteroid belt around the star Vega, the second brightest star in northern night skies. The scientists used data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and the ...

Martian rock from Sahara desert unlike others

Scientists are abuzz about a coal-colored rock from Mars that landed in the Sahara desert: A yearlong analysis revealed it's quite different from other Martian meteorites. Not only is it older than most, it also contains ...

Team studies rare meteorite possibly from the outer asteroid belt

(Phys.org)—Scientists found treasure when they studied a meteorite that was recovered April 22, 2012 at Sutter's Mill, the gold discovery site that led to the 1849 California Gold Rush. Detection of the falling meteorites ...

Asteroid belts of just the right size are friendly to life

(Phys.org)—Solar systems with life-bearing planets may be rare if they are dependent on the presence of asteroid belts of just the right mass, according to a study by Rebecca Martin, a NASA Sagan Fellow from the University ...

New type of 'space weathering' observed on asteroid Vesta

The surface of the giant asteroid Vesta is weathering in a way that appears to be completely different from any other asteroid yet visited, according to new data recorded by NASA's Dawn spacecraft. This new type of space ...

WISE colors in unknowns on Jupiter asteroids

(Phys.org)—Scientists using data from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, have uncovered new clues in the ongoing mystery of the Jovian Trojans—asteroids that orbit the sun on the same path as Jupiter. ...

page 28 from 36