Asteroids

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Pickup truck-sized asteroid flew within 2K miles of Earth on Sunday and NASA didn't see it

NASA may have updated its plan to protect the planet from asteroid strikes, but a space rock the size of a pickup truck zipped past the planet at a distance of approximately 1,830 miles on Sunday, the closest ever recorded. And the space agency didn't see it until after it happened.

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Perseid meteor shower on deck: What you need to know

Stargazers are in for a treat early Wednesday when the annual Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak.

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62-mile space rock caused massive asteroid shower that hit Earth, moon 800M years ago, study says

Eight hundred million years ago, a 62-mile-wide asteroid broke apart and sent 110 trillion pounds of meteorites crashing into the moon and the Earth, according to a new study.

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A man digs up boulder in his garden, not realizing that it was a historic meteorite

A rock discovered in a garden in Germany has been confirmed as the largest stony meteorite ever found in the country.

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Dinosaurs were definitely killed by asteroid and not volcano, new study says

If there was any doubt that the dinosaurs went extinct due to the massive asteroid that hit Earth 65 million years ago, a new study hopes to put the controversy to bed.

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NASA is going to crash a spacecraft into a moon the size of the Great Pyramid

The space object that NASA is going to slam a spacecraft into in a few years to test its planetary defense systems has finally got a new name.

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Mysterious interstellar comet Borisov survived its encounter with the sun, new study says

A new study notes that interstellar comet Borisov did break up after it came close to the sun, but seems likely to survive its journey through the Solar System.

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Stadium-sized asteroid set to whiz past Earth, NASA says

A stadium-sized asteroid is set to whiz past Earth this week.

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Tunguska event may have been caused by iron asteroid that went back into space, researchers say

The Tunguska event, a seismic blast that rocked a remote Siberian forest more than a century ago, is believed to have been caused by a meteor that exploded before it hit the ground. A new study sheds more light on the asteroid, noting it may have never actually hit Earth at all.

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Mysterious 'active' object in Jupiter's orbit isn't so mysterious at all

After originally believing the "continuously active" object in Jupiter's orbit was the first-known "Trojan asteroid" like it, scientists have issued a correction and it's just a regular comet. 

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Mysterious 'continuously active' object discovered in Jupiter's orbit

A mysterious 'continuously active' object known as a "Trojan asteroid" has been discovered in Jupiter's orbit, making it the first known object like it.

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NASA sets date to research asteroid Bennu after coronavirus pandemic caused delays

After getting delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, NASA has finally picked out a date to research samples of the asteroid Bennu.

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Giant meteorite impacts formed parts of moon's crust, scientists reveal

New research on a sample of the moon brought back by Apollo 17 has revealed how giant meteorite impacts formed parts of the celestial satellite's crust.

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Earliest evidence of death by meteorite discovered

Scientists have discovered the earliest evidence of a person being killed by a meteorite.

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Mysterious interstellar object 'Oumuamua gets new origin story

More than two years after it was discovered, the mysterious interstellar object 'Oumuamua is getting a new origin story.

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Trump signs order on moon mining, pulling resources from asteroids

The moon's water ice and other natural resources can be mined and used by the United States, according to a new executive order signed by President Trump.

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Photographer captures comet C19 headed toward Earth

A photographer in the U.K. has captured a remarkable image of comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) as it speeds toward Earth.

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Scientists discover extraterrestrial superconductivity in meteorites

Scientists at UC San Diego and the Brookhaven Laboratory in New York have discovered superconductivity in meteorites.

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Interstellar comet Borisov could be breaking apart, researchers believe

Since it was first discovered in August 2019, astronomers have been awestruck by interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov. But recent observations of the space object suggest that it could be breaking apart.

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Asteroid Ryugu has texture like 'freeze-dried coffee'

The asteroid Ryugu has a texture that is highly porous, new images from a Japanese space reveal.

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5 interesting facts about the moon

The moon has been the Earth's companion in the Solar System for almost 5 billion years. It is the only place beyond Earth where humans have set foot.

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Giant asteroid apocalypse 13K years ago was witnessed by ancient humans, experts believe

The asteroid that hit Earth nearly 13,000 years ago and ended the Pleistocene era likely wiped out an ancient civilization in what is modern-day Syria, according to newly discovered evidence.

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Asteroid almost as big as Mount Everest to pass Earth next month, NASA says

A gigantic asteroid almost as large as Mount Everest is zooming toward Earth next month, but NASA says not to worry -- it's not expected to collide with our planet.

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Scientists claim they've discovered first extraterrestrial protein in meteorite that fell to Earth 30 years ago

Scientists say they have discovered the first known protein that originated in space, located in a meteorite that fell to Earth 30 years ago.

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What should we do if a 'planet-killer' asteroid takes aim at Earth?

If a giant object looks like it's going to slam into Earth, humanity has a few options: Hammer it with a spacecraft hard enough to knock it off course, blast it with nuclear weapons, tug on it with a gravity tractor, or even slow it down using concentrated sunlight. 

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Artificial intelligence spotted 11 'potentially hazardous' asteroids that NASA missed

An asteroid hitting Earth is one of humanity's greatest existential threats, making it imperative that asteroid detection is a vital task for government space agencies around the world. Using advanced artificial intelligence, researchers in the Netherlands have discovered several "potentially hazardous objects" that were not spotted by humans.

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Asteroid Pallas' violent history revealed in new images

A huge, heavily-cratered asteroid known as Pallas has a violent history, scientists revealed in a new study.

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Potentially hazardous asteroid that zipped past Earth has its own 'moon'

A "potentially hazardous asteroid" that whizzed past Earth earlier this month is so large it has its own "moon."

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Rosetta's 'rubber ducky' comet changed color as it neared the sun. Here's why.

The Rosetta spacecraft's rubber ducky comet has slowly changed color as it moved through space, from red to blueish and then red again.

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'Bizarre' turtle managed to survive asteroid that wiped out dinosaurs

The asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago also caused nearly 75 percent of all species on the planet to go extinct. However, a new study suggests one "bizarre" form of life managed to survive — a land turtle.

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Massive asteroid explosion that killed the dinosaurs benefited bacteria, study says

The asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago also killed nearly 75 percent of all species on the planet. However, a new study suggests one form of life thrived thanks to the massive blast — bacteria.