Asteroids
What happens if the Solar System’s largest comet collides with Earth?
The asteroid that caused the last mass extinction 65 million years ago was only 5 kilometers across — tiny compared to this one.
We have a new way to hunt for potentially hazardous asteroids
To help protect Earth from potentially hazardous asteroids, astronomers developed an algorithm to look for them in existing datasets.
China is going to try to move an asteroid
As part of its new planetary defense strategy, the China National Space Administration is going to launch a mission to redirect an asteroid.
New asteroid spotted just before impact with Earth
NASA successfully pinpointed almost exactly where and when a new asteroid would hit Earth’s atmosphere, before it made contact.
An asteroid could wipe out an entire city – here’s NASA’s plan to prevent catastrophe
Cosmic bodies, like asteroids and comets, are constantly zooming through space and often crash into our planet.
This near-Earth asteroid may be a chunk knocked off of the moon
A near-Earth asteroid discovered in 2016 may have once been part of the moon — making it unlike any space rock we’ve ever discovered.
“Pulverize It”: The plan to slice and dice space rocks
To prevent asteroid impacts, UCSB physicists suggest we slice up the space rocks using arrays of “penetrator rods.”
Nuking an asteroid heading to Earth really could protect us
Blowing up an asteroid heading to Earth with a nuclear bomb could save the planet, according to new planetary defense simulations.
Astronomers discover solar system’s fastest-orbiting asteroid
Astronomers have discovered an asteroid that orbits the sun in just 113 days, making it the fastest-orbiting asteroid in our solar system.
NASA updates the odds on Bennu asteroid hitting Earth
Using data from the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, NASA has updated its predictions about the Bennu asteroid impacting Earth.