Asteroids

Science 19 hours ago

Minute by minute accounts of how asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs devastated Earth

The death of the dinosaurs has been laid out into a detailed timeline thanks to scientists who have been surveying the crater of the asteroid that killed them.

Science 19 hours ago

Giant asteroid strike 13K years ago had 'global consequences,' shocking study says

The devastating strike caused mass destruction, wiped out many species of animals and led to climate change, during an episode event known as Younger Dryas.

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Near-Earth objects could be used by extraterrestrials 'to watch our world,' stunning study suggests

Although Earth only has one Moon, it does have other natural satellites, including asteroid 2016 HO3, known as a "co-orbital object." These tiny celestial objects could be an "attractive location for extraterrestrial intelligence," according to a new study.

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NASA emails reveal space agency unaware of ‘city-killer’ asteroid until last moment: 'This one did sneak up on us'

Internal emails from NASA show that the space agency was unaware of asteroid 2019 OK, described as a "city killer," until the last moment on July 24.

Science 19 hours ago

Huge asteroid triggered ancient ice age after dust blocked sunlight for 2M years

An ancient asteroid collision may have filled the atmosphere with enough dust to trigger an ice age, scientists claim.

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Newly discovered interstellar visitor could be intercepted, study says

It's been nearly a month since the second interstellar object, C/2019 Q4 (Borisov), was detected. And this newly identified object could potentially be studied, according to a new study.

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Asteroid dust may have triggered massive explosion of life on Earth 466 million years ago

Nearly half a billion years ago, there was a huge explosion of species development on Earth, causing the biodiversity of animals to increase dramatically -- but the true cause of that event has remained a mystery.

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Friday the 13th sees 3 gigantic asteroids flying past Earth: NASA

It may be Friday the 13th, but don't let the thought of a killer asteroid scare you.

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Scientists uncover new evidence of the asteroid that killed off the dinosaurs

Drilling into the seafloor off Mexico, scientists have extracted a unique geologic record of the single worst day in the history of life on Earth, when a city-sized asteroid smashed into the planet 65 million years ago, wiping out the dinosaurs and three-quarters of all other life.

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Remnants of ancient planet just found in famous meteorite

Though it was discovered in the Australian outback in the 1950s and studied since then, researchers have just found a surprising result buried inside the Wedderburn meteorite — remnants of an ancient planet.

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Japan's Hayabusa2 asteroid probe packs its space-rock bag for return to Earth

Japan's Hayabusa2 spacecraft has packed up the capsule that will ferry its precious space-rock cargo back to Earth in preparation to leave the asteroid Ryugu later this year.

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Asteroid just under the size of the world's tallest building set to fly past Earth next month

An asteroid that is slightly shorter than the world's tallest building, Burj Khalifa, is set to harmlessly fly past Earth next month.

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Elon Musk concerned we have 'no defense' against potential killer asteroid

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said that a large asteroid will eventually hit Earth and his concern is that "we currently have no defense" against it.

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America's largest asteroid impact left a trail of destruction across the eastern US

About 35 million years ago, an asteroid traveling nearly 144,000 mph smashed into the Atlantic Ocean near the modern-day town of Cape Charles, Virginia.

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Meteorite strikes made life on Earth possible, study says

There's been a notable increase in recent weeks about protecting life on Earth from a devastating asteroid strike. But a new study suggests that space rocks actually made life possible on the Blue Planet.

Science 19 hours ago

Asteroid the size of the Washington Monument will fly past Earth this month

Just days after an asteroid the size of the Empire State Building flew past Earth, another "potentially hazardous" space rock will do the same.

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Asteroid size of Empire State Building set to fly by Earth next week

A "potentially hazardous" asteroid that is as large as the Empire State Building will zoom past Earth next week on Aug. 10. But it's not anything to worry about, according to experts.

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Surprise ‘city-killer’ asteroid almost hit Earth — whizzing by at 15 miles a second

A “city-killer” asteroid whizzed by Earth on Thursday, startling astronomers who didn’t pick up the rock’s trajectory until days before it passed the planet, according to a report.

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Indian farmers shocked as 'fireball-like' object crashes into rice field

A suspected meteorite crashed into a rice field in India on Monday.

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Massive Moon rocks set to go on show

The Maine Mineral and Gem Museum is set to showcase massive chunks of the Moon that have crashed into the Earth as meteorites.

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Massive, kilometer-sized asteroid was just found orbiting the Sun

A newly-found asteroid has been spotted orbiting the Sun, whizzing past the star every 151 days, the shortest orbit of any space rock on record.

Tech 19 hours ago

Pistols made from a 4.5 billion-year-old meteorite could fetch $1.5 million at auction

Two pistols made from a 4.5 billion-year-old meteorite could fetch $1.5 million when they are auctioned later this month.

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No aliens needed: Odd properties of the 1st known interstellar visitor can be natural

When the solar system's first-known interstellar visitor was spotted on October 19, 2017, scientists scurried to observe the strange object.

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Mysterious interstellar object Oumuamua is not an alien spaceship but scientists are still baffled

first interstellar object to enter the solar system is not an alien spaceship but still remains a mystery, astronomers said in a new study.

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Cyanide-laced meteorites may have seeded Earth's first life

Cyanide isn't just the last resort for the captured spies of Hollywood film.

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Astronomers spotted a car-size asteroid just hours before impact

Astronomers discovered a car-size asteroid hours before it slammed into Earth and burned up in the atmosphere this past weekend, news sources report.

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NASA headed towards giant golden asteroid that could make everyone on Earth a billionaire

NASA is eyeing up a nearby asteroid that contains enough gold to make everyone on Earth a billionaire.

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Triple-threat 'comet interceptor' could explore an undiscovered space object

A new mission will intercept an undiscovered comet en route to Earth's orbit, the first of its kind to observe a pristine interstellar object as it enters the inner solar system.

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Americans prefer to stop asteroids from hitting Earth over going to the Moon or Mars

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Americans prefer a space program that focuses on potential asteroid impacts, scientific research and using robots to explore the cosmos over sending humans back to the moon or on to Mars, a poll shows.

Science 19 hours ago

NASA reveals new image of dwarf planet 'like nothing that humanity has ever seen before'

NASA unveiled a new image of the dwarf planet Ceres that "is like nothing that humanity has ever seen before."

Science 19 hours ago

NASA snaps stunning picture of asteroid Bennu from only 0.4 miles away

NASA released the closest shot of the near-Earth asteroid 101955 Bennu this week.