Astronomers today revealed that an asteroid in the outer solar system has been confirmed to have its own Saturn-like ring system. The new findings have been published today in the journal Nature. The asteroid, named Chariklo, is a minor planet…
NASA, Kerbal Space Program Want You To Stop Virtual Asteroids
Kerbal Space Program is one of the most fascinating PC games of the last few years. It’s a hardcore space exploration simulator that has players building rockets to send little green men into space. It’s incredibly challenging, and it takes…
Asteroid Passing Earth: How To See It?
When you hear the words “asteroid” and “Earth”, for a few seconds there is a bit of major concern. Is this thing going to hit us? How big is it? The asteroid, named 2014 DX110, is expected to fly past…
Hubble Telescope Spots Six-Tailed Asteroid
Astronomers today announced that an asteroid with six “comet-like” tails has been discovered. The asteroid, currently named P/2013 P5, was imaged twice in September by the Hubble Space Telescope. Its strange tails were seen changing position over the course of…
NASA Reactivates WISE in Search For Deadly Asteroids
NASA‘s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) space telescope ran out of coolant in the fall of 2010. Though the telescope was used for a few more months (the NEOWISE mission), it was officially retired from service in February 2011. Now,…
NASA Reviews Asteroid Capture Mission Ideas
Back in June, NASA issued a “Grand Challenge” to catalogue all of the near-Earth asteroids that could potentially threaten life on the planet. As part of the initiative, NASA began soliciting ideas on how to locate, redirect, and explore these…
NASA Has Now Found 10,000 Near-Earth Objects
NASA this week announced that it has now discovered more than 10,000 near-Earth objects – asteroids that could pass close to Earth in the future. The agency also bragged that 98% of all near-Earth objects have been uncovered by NASA…
NASA Issues ‘Grand Challenge’ to Combat Killer Asteroids
NASA and astronomers around the world have been tracking asteroids for decades now. Though asteroids seem to be constantly be giving the Earth a close miss, no ‘doomsday’ asteroids have yet been found. That doesn’t mean they aren’t out there,…
Russian Meteor Blast Explained by NASA [VIDEO]
On February 15, when the world’s astronomers were busy watching Asteroid 2012 DA14 make a close flyby of Earth, a different space rock entered Earth’s atmosphere and broke up over Chelyabinsk, Russia. The shockwave following the meteor’s destruction shattered windows…
Russia Meteor Blast Being Assessed by the ESA
Last week, as astronomers around the world turned their attention toward the passing asteroid 2012 DA14, a meteorite entered Earth’s atmosphere and broke up over Chelyabinsk, Russia. The blast shattered windows and injured hundreds in the small town. The European…
Meteorite Falls in Russia, Lights Up the Sky [VIDEO]
A meteorite only a few meters long fell to Earth above Chelyabinsk, Russia early this morning. The shockwave caused by the object shattered windows and caused hundreds of injuries. A video of the event has quickly become one of the…
NASA: Asteroid 2012 Da14 Will Not be Hitting the Earth Today
Today at around 2:20 pm EST an asteroid named 2012 da14 will come within 17,200 miles of the surface of Earth. Almost one year ago NASA was able to determine that the asteroid definitely does not pose a danger to…
Your House Will Not Be Destroyed by an Asteroid, but You Can Calculate the Odds If You Want
Did you know that every year, about one asteroid between 16 and 33 feet wide hits the Earth? And when you look at asteroids that are less that 16 feet wide, the total that hit the Earth jumps to around…
Asteroid Flyby to be Live-Streamed by NASA
On February 15, tomorrow, an asteroid named 2012 DA14 will fly within several thousand miles of the surface of the Earth. At its closest approach the asteroid will come within 17,200 miles of the Earth’s surface – a harrowingly close…
Asteroid Worth $195B to Swing By Earth on February 15
On February 15 an asteroid named 2012 DA14 will pass very close to the Earth. It will swing within just 17,200 miles of the planet’s surface, which is well within the orbit of the man-made geosynchronous satellites that orbit the…
Earth-Threatening Asteroid to be Visited by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx
One week from today an asteroid will swing within just 17,200 miles of Earth – closer than geosynchronous satellites that orbit the planet. While there is no chance of an impact event on February 15, there are other asteroids that…
Asteroid Named “Wikipedia” Officially Documented
Considering just how many asteroids there are in the asteroid belt, it can be difficult to come up with acceptable names for all of them. So, they are given obscure provisional names until a naming organization can bestow names on…
Asteroid to Give Earth a Near Miss on February 15
NASA this weekend revealed that an asteroid named 2012 DA14 will come very close to Earth on February 15. The object will swing within 27,700 kilometers (17,200 miles) of the Earth’s surface – close enough to pass within the geosynchronous…
Doomsday Asteroid Deflection Mission Tests Concepts
The European Space Agency (ESA) today announced that it is appealing for research ideas that could help develop a future mission to deflect life-threatening asteroids. It is asking for both ground and space-based ideas to improve scientist’s understanding of high-speed…
“Doomsday” Asteroid Won’t Hit Earth in 2036
Earlier this week, astronomers with the European Space Agency (ESA) announced that they were collecting data on the asteroid Apophis as it made its most recent approach to Earth. The data was, among other things, meant to narrow the prediction…