When NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft descends toward the surface of Bennu on Oct. 20, it will be the first time that a U.S.-led mission attempts to pick up a sample of pristine material from an asteroid. Bennu is likely an extraterrestrial ...
Space Exploration
Oct 16, 2020
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A small team of researchers from the U.S. and Tunisia has found evidence that suggests a huge asteroid that struck the Earth approximately 66 million years ago caused the planet to warm up for approximately 100,000 years. ...
NASA's Lucy spacecraft will launch in October 2021 on a 12-year journey to Jupiter's Trojan asteroids. The Lucy mission will include three Earth gravity assists and visits to eight asteroids.
Space Exploration
Oct 7, 2021
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262
After several months of downtime after Hurricane Maria blew through, the Arecibo Observatory Planetary Radar has returned to normal operation, providing the highest-resolution images to date of near-Earth asteroid 3200 Phaethon ...
Space Exploration
Dec 22, 2017
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495
There are no known threats to Earth, but NASA asteroid expert Dr. Kelly Fast says it's important to find the asteroids before they find us. That's why NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office keeps its eyes on the skies.
Astronomy
Oct 22, 2021
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At first glance, Ceres, the largest body in the main asteroid belt, may not look icy. Images from NASA's Dawn spacecraft have revealed a dark, heavily cratered world whose brightest area is made of highly reflective salts—not ...
Space Exploration
Dec 15, 2016
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460
In the 18th century, observations made of all the known planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) led astronomers to discern a pattern in their orbits. Eventually, this led to the Titius–Bode law, which ...
Space Exploration
Aug 24, 2015
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45
(Phys.org) —A fireball that appeared over the Sri Lankan province of Polonnaruwa on December 29, 2012 was a meteorite containing algae fossils, according to a paper published in the Journal of Cosmology. A team of researchers, ...
The Earth exists in a dangerous environment. Cosmic bodies, like asteroids and comets, are constantly zooming through space and often crash into our planet. Most of these are too small to pose a threat, but some can be cause ...
Planetary Sciences
Mar 1, 2022
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A pair of space scientists, one with the University of Antioquia, the other the University of Salento, has found evidence of a swarm of large asteroids hidden in the Taurid complex. Ignacio Ferrín and Vincenzo Orofino have ...
